When Lightning Meets Fire
by tsay cresant
Summary: Everything happens the way it's supposed to happen because that's the only way it can happen. The universe will balance itself. These phrasing are far from comforting as Hiroshi handles his 'inability' to impress his father and an 'inescapable' destiny.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So here it is, the sequel to Small Surprises. If you haven't read Small Surprises, it's probably a good idea to read that first :). I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I do not watch/read very much Naruto Shippuden. Everything that happens in that will not apply to my story because I've seriously only watched maybe 10 episodes of it and those are pretty sporadic. Most of what I know from it comes from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. So, prepare yourself for a different take on that story. :) I hope you enjoy! **

**Full Summary: A lot has changed since Hiroshi moved to Konoha several years ago. Possessing his father's genius and his mother's sheer will, he became a chunin quickly and shows much potential. When Naruto returns to Konoha after training with Jiraiya, he and some old friends are assigned the mission of discovering what this purple beast is that has been haunting the forests and graveyards in Konoha and trying to stop it. Will they succeed or does destiny see a different path?**

* * *

Chapter 1

There was an excited air floating through Konoha today. Hiroshi wasn't sure what it was exactly. Things were a lot different in Konoha after the Chunin exams those years ago. Naruto left to train with Jiraiya, Sasuke left, and Sakura trained with Tsunade, the new Hokage. During this, Hiroshi graduated from the academy, and last year was promoted to Chunin.

Deciding to go see if anything was happening, Hiroshi zipped up his Chunin vest and walked outside, but stopped when he heard a yell.

"It's great to be home!" yelled the yellow hair shinobi that Hiroshi would never forget.

"Naruto!" he yelled, hurrying down the stairs and out into the city. There he was, standing up on top of a building, no one other than Naruto Uzumaki. "Naruto!" Hiroshi called again, this time getting the ninja's attention.

"Hiroshi? Is that you?" he called back, hoping off of the roof and landing in front of his sensei's son. "Wow, you grew up." Naruto was shocked when he saw Kakashi's son, who was far from the little boy he remembered. He was taller than Naruto was at that age, that was for sure, but he wasn't sturdy looking. Instead, he was more lanky and scrawny. Now that he'd grown out of his baby face a bit more, anyone could see he was Kakashi's son. His face was starting to look similar, to the point where Naruto couldn't help but wonder if Hiroshi looked like a younger version of how his Sensei looked without his mask.

"You did too," he answered back with a smile. "You're done training with Jiraiya?"

"You bet," he said, his voice holding conflicting sounds of excitement and sadness. Hiroshi didn't understand why Naruto had to leave or where Sasuke went, even though Kakashi had tried explaining it to him several times. All he knew was that Sasuke had left to work for the enemy, and it made the rest of Team 7 upset in their own way. "So you finally passed the academy?"

"Actually, I'm a chunin," he said proudly, flashing his headband. Naruto's pride instantly started deflating as he realized this 11 year old boy was a higher rank than him.

"Ohhh, great. So, where's Sensei? And Sakura?" he asked excitedly, moving quickly past Hiroshi out ranking him.

"I don't know, sorry. I haven't seen much of Sakura for a while, and Dad… well, you know him," Hiroshi said with a shrug. Before they could start the adventure of looking for the two, they both heard a voice calling for Naruto in the distance.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled again, running up to her old teammate and throwing him in a hug. "Look at you! You grew up!"

Naruto's face turned bright red as he looked at his teammate who had definitely grown up while he was away. He rubbed the back of his head, still smiling at her.

"Yeah, that happens sometimes," he said simply. Feeling awkward, Hiroshi excused himself from the conversation and decided to head over to the training field and practice, like he'd planned to do this morning. Since Hiroshi was a rank ahead of his old team, Tsunade decided it would be best to change his team, but since he hadn't been assigned a new team yet, he had no one to practice with. He never really liked his old teammates anyways.

"Hoy, Hiroshi!" Guy Sensei called to the chunin. Hiroshi didn't even get to begin practice before it was interrupted.

"Yes Sensei?" he asked fondly. Even though he'd been afraid of Guy the first time he'd met him, throughout his years in Konoha, Guy had become something like a crazy uncle to Hiroshi. At first he couldn't figure out why his father liked Guy, but after hearing bushels of stories from their childhoods and watching them do different challenges, Hiroshi started understanding his charm.

"I have a challenge for you," he said, sharply pointing at the young boy.

"Me? But you challenge my father," Hiroshi said, pointing out the obvious. "Besides, you've been alive way longer than I have. I can't fight-"

"Not me!" Guy said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Lee wants to challenge you."

"Rock Lee?" Hiroshi asked, remembering the Guy clone. "Um… sure. Where is he?"

"Here I am!" Lee called as he jumped from the bushes, taking the same pointing stance as his Sensei.

"What's the challenge?" Hiroshi asked, kind of excited to be taking part in one.

"A race from here to Lady Tsunade's office," Lee announced. Hiroshi nodded in agreement and the two shinobi prepared themselves to run.

"On my mark," Guy started. "Get set. Go!"

The two shinobi took off, zooming through the training field and straight for the academy. They stayed neck in neck for most of the race until Hiroshi began pushing ahead by leaning lower and becoming more aerodynamic. The boys ran through the mansion doors and up the stairs, still not to the office yet. With only a step ahead of him, Hiroshi pushed himself through the doorway, tripping as he ran in and tumbling into the wall from the sheer force of his speed. It may have not been the most graceful entrance, but he won!

"Wow, speak of the devil," Tsunade said when she witnessed the two boys run in. "We were just talking about you two and Guy. Where is he?"

"He should be here soon," Lee said disappointedly. "I can't believe you beat me…"

"If it makes you feel better, I am smaller. So really, you were exerting more effort than I was," Hiroshi said with a smile as he got up off the floor. "Good race though."

"So Lee has sucked you into a rivalry?" Kakashi asked, startling Hiroshi. He didn't even notice his father sitting on the window ledge, reading the latest book in Jiraiya's series.

"Perhaps," Hiroshi answered, smiling at his dad. Through the years they've spent together, Hiroshi and Kakashi had become almost inseparable. Every so often, Kakashi would go on D rank missions with Hiroshi when he had been a genin, just to get a break from A and S rank. Once Hiroshi made chunin, the two had gone on a few C and B ranked missions together, but Tsunade didn't like pairing them together too much, in fear of there being too much of an emotional attachment between the two.

Guy appeared a few seconds later, giving Lee a disappointed look.

"I'm sorry Sensei!" Lee cried as he embraced his sensei.

"It's okay Lee! You're still powerful and youthful. You have time to win a challenge of your own!" he said overdramatically. Tsunade cleared her throat, signifying that she wanted the two to shut up.

"I have a mission for you all," she said. "Naruto and Sakura are included in this, but since they're preparing for their test with Kakashi, I will brief them later."

"What sort of mission Miss. Tsunade?" Lee asked, excitement on the edge of his voice at the thought of a mission.

"We've had a few shinobi see a strange sort of being in the forest and within the graveyard in Konoha. It's been described as a purple demon with red glowing eyes that ranges from being human sized to hundreds of feet tall. I want two teams investigating this. Team Kakashi will consist of himself, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki, and team Guy will consist of himself, Rock Lee, and Hiroshi Hayashi Hatake. I want one of you to be guarding and investigating the graveyard and the other the forest," Tsunade said briskly.

"But why is this a big deal? It hasn't hurt anyone, has it?" Hiroshi asked, not understanding the urgency.

"No, it hasn't hurt anyone yet, but I'm afraid that it may be a special kind of jutsu used to find bodies to reanimate. This could be the work of the Akutski or Orochimaru. Whatever the case, we need to make sure the threat is destroyed before it becomes a big problem," she said matter-of-factly. Hiroshi nodded, feeling dumb for asking such a question. "I'd like you both to start patrolling in a few days, once Naruto has rested up some. Until then." She said with a nod. Guy and Lee both ran out the door, discussing the methods of training they were going to use to best prepare themselves for the strange beast.

"You should come train with us!" Guy yelled to Hiroshi as they ran out. He followed them, but then stopped and remembered that he meant to ask his dad what time he'd be coming home, so he turned around and was about to walk in, but paused when he heard his father talking.

"I would just feel better if Hiroshi stayed with me, since we have no idea what this thing is," Kakashi said firmly. "Naruto wouldn't mind going with Guy and Lee I'm sure."

"I understand your concern, but Hiroshi is a chunin now. He needs to get use to being on missions with people other than you," Tsunade said just as firmly.

"I understand that and he does go on missions with people other than me, but… the boy is a bit clumsy and can sometimes be a little too distracted, and if you think this thing is something created by the Akutski or Orochimaru…"

"I'll consider your request," she said finally.

"Thank you Lady Tsunade," Kakashi said in relief. "Well, I'd better go get some last minute training in before this test with Naruto and Sakura. I have this strange feeling that they may actually beat me…"

Hiroshi turned around and hurried to the training field, filled with the desire to prove his father wrong. He wasn't clumsy or distracted! He was just as good of a shinobi as he father was at his age, or at least that's what he told himself. He would show him. He wasn't a baby who needed looking after. He could fight on his own!


	2. Chapter 1B

**Author's Note: Thanks for the alerts/review! :) I hate to say this, but I do feel more inclined to post with the more reviews I get, just saying... Here's a B chapter about Hiroshi's life as a genin.**

Chapter 1.b

_A few years earlier._

Hiroshi hurried to meet up with Asuma Sensei for some extra training, running late for the second time this week. He had just made genin a few weeks ago, but since he was the only person from his class to pass, he didn't have a squad yet. When Lady Tsunade became Hokage, she decided that he shouldn't be going on missions on his own or just with an Elite shinobi, so he would just train at a more advanced level until further notice.

Being the only person to pass in his class, even though he had only been in it for less than a year, made him one of the most hated genin in the village. Because of how he had helped during Orochimaru's attack in the final part of the chunin exams, he was immediately promoted to genin. Every time he had to walk into the academy, all he received was jealous glares from the classmates he use to call his friends. Every so often he'd hear them yell some sort of name at him, or the worst, call him Bean Pole since he was ridiculously scrawny and taller than he'd like to be. For whatever reason, someone called him that when he hit a growth spurt in school, and the name stuck on him like a leech. That's why when he heard it called at him; he knew exactly who it was.

"Hoy! Bean Pole!" yelled Daiki, one of Hiroshi's exclassmates who particularly enjoyed giving him grief. "What's the hurry? Running late again?" Hiroshi just kept running, taking his father's advice and just ignoring the kid, but for some reason today, he wasn't having it. He followed him, still calling at him. "Yo! Bean Pole, I'm talking to you!" Trailing behind Daiki was a few more classmates, but Hiroshi didn't really know them very well. He stopped, turning to look at the strong built boy.

"Yes, I'm running late," he said, irritation rearing its ugly head in his voice.

"Off to do important genin things? Top secret missions?" Daiki asked in a tone that made Hiroshi's fist clench. "You know, I was talking to my father a few days ago, telling him how you were the only person in our class who made genin. He had an interesting theory Bean Pole."

"I don't care," Hiroshi said, turning back around to leave. He was really running late.

"Oh, I think you do," the boy sneered, crossing his arms. His gang of friends did the same, all wearing smirks that made Hiroshi's stomach twist. "He told me that it wasn't a surprise that you made genin, I mean, with your father being such a big important jonin and all. Not to mention that your mom was some sort of whore from the Sand Village. They felt sorry for you and knew that there would be a big controversy if you didn't make genin. So that's why you made it. Because your dad's some big time shinobi who had sex with a Sand Village whor-"

The end of Daiki's sentence was cut off by Hiroshi's fist making contact with his face. The kid flew several feet, smacking into a tree, stunned by what had just happened. Hiroshi charged at him, pounding his face into the tree with his fists.

"You're a liar!" he screamed over and over until a firm hand grabbed his fists. Hiroshi panted, staring at the damage he'd just done. Daiki was missing several teeth and was bleeding profusely from his mouth. Both of his eyes were already darkening with bruises and tears were running from them. His friends grabbed him and ran off with their tails between their legs.

"I was wondering where you were," Asuma said, the smell of cigarette smoke invading Hiroshi's nose. Shaking from anger still, he looked at his blood covered, trembling hands that Asuma had finally let go.

"I… I don't know what came over me," he said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Come on," Asuma said like nothing had just happened. "I think you should skip training today."

Instead, the pair went to Asuma's house, where he handed Hiroshi a towel to wash the blood off of his hands with. He sat down at Asuma's table, trying to get over what he had just done. He could've killed Daiki. He knew he wanted to after all of what he said. He knew it wasn't true, that he had worked hard for his position as genin and that his mom wasn't that ugly word Daiki called her, but for whatever reason, everyone in the village didn't think so. A bottle of sake clinked on the table in front of Hiroshi, along with a small cup, bringing him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, I'm not allowed to-"Hiroshi started, pushing the drink back.

"Don't worry about it. I won't tell," Asuma said with a smirk, taking another drag of his cigarette. Hiroshi gave him a grateful smile, pouring himself a cup and throwing it back. It burned his throat and up through his nose, but seemed to take the edge off of what he'd done and steadied his hands a bit.

"Could you also not tell my dad about… what happened?" Hiroshi asked as he poured himself another cup.

"There's no getting around that. He probably knows by now," Asuma said. "That kid, Daiki, seems like the type who'd go running to his dad as soon as he could."

"I knocked his teeth out," Hiroshi said bluntly.

"He deserved it," Asuma said. "I heard what he said to you. I didn't think you'd beat the shit out of him, otherwise I would've stepped in sooner, but to say he didn't have it coming would be lying."

"Maybe so, but Dad is going to be pissed," Hiroshi said, drinking his third cup.

"You're right about that," Asuma said, almost laughing. All of the jonin thought it was funny to imagine Kakashi actually getting mad, since it didn't happen too often, but Hiroshi knew better. He could see behind that cool composure, his dad was someone you did not want to piss off. "Better not drink too much of that. I don't think it'll make him much happier if you walk home in a zig zag."

"Right," Hiroshi said, pushing the sake away from him. His vision was getting a bit fuzzy, but he knew he'd be able to manage. "I'd better go… Thanks Asuma."

"Anytime Kid," he said, opening the door for him to step out and go meet whatever he would have to face when he got home.

* * *

The walk home was more difficult than usual since his motor skilled had been weakened by the sake, but by the time Hiroshi reached home, his head was clear again. He fumbled with his keys for a few seconds before his father opened the door. To say he didn't look happy would be an understatement. Shrinking a bit, Hiroshi walked inside, finding Daiki's mother and father also sitting in the apartment. Daiki's father was built big and strong, just like his son, and had big angry eyes glaring right at Hiroshi. Daiki's mother looked more upset than angry, her eyes filled with tears.

"Where have you been?" Kakashi asked, obviously still trying to keep his cool.

"With Asuma Sensei," he answered, looking back to his father. Kakashi raised his eyebrow at him and sighed, putting one hand on his waist and closing the apartment door with the other.

"I'm assuming you know why Daiki's parents are here," Kakashi said, getting right to the point. Hiroshi flinched at the cool anger in Kakashi's voice.

"Yes," Hiroshi said, not saying 'to collect their son's teeth?' like he'd wanted to. He had a feeling that wouldn't have gone over well.

"You're lucky those weren't his permanent teeth," Kakashi said. "Otherwise, this would be an even worse situation." Hiroshi sighed a bit in relief. "Don't even think for a second that it means you're off the hook."

"I..." Hiroshi wanted to justify himself, but he had a feeling there was no justification. "I'm sorry," he said, looking over at Daiki's parents. "I… I really didn't mean to hurt Daiki…"

"You didn't mean to hurt him?" Daiki's father said, rage slowly building up. "You pummeled him into the dirt and for no reason! Daiki told me everything, you little big shot." Hiroshi wanted to laugh at the oxymoron, but he stifled it. He must've smiled though. "Don't even smile. My son only wanted some help with his ninjutsu, but instead, you beat the holy hell out of him!"

"Wait," Hiroshi said, his smile completely gone. "That's what Daiki told you?" Hiroshi started laughing, almost hysterically. He couldn't help it. "Daiki told you that he asked for my help with ninjutsu?"

"What the hell is so funny?" the man yelled, standing up as if he was going to punch Hiroshi. Kakashi quickly got in between the two of them, putting a hard hand on Daiki's father's shoulder, forcing him to sit back down. Hiroshi instantly shut up, remembering that his father was still pissed too.

"That isn't what happened," Hiroshi said simply, trying to hard not to laugh again. "Not at all."

"Then what did?" Kakashi asked with his arms crossed. He knew that story didn't add up when Daiki's father had told him, but the man was unreasonable, so for the sake of keeping the peace, Kakashi went along with it until Hiroshi had said otherwise.

"I was running late to practice with Asuma Sensei and Daiki called me over. I ignored him because I had to get to practice, but he followed me until I had to stop and hear whatever he had to say. Then he sat there and told me that the only reason I made genin was because my dad is a jonin and then he called my mom… a name, and I lost my cool. I know that doesn't justify anything I did, but he is not even close to being inno-"

"You lying little bastard!" Daiki's father yelled, standing up from his seat again. "My son would never do such a thing!"

"Well he did!" Hiroshi yelled back, not liking being pushed around. "Ask Asuma Sensei! He saw what happened!"

"You know, I was going to try and settle this in a way where we wouldn't have to involve the Hokage," Daiki's father said, standing up. "But, if you aren't willing to own up to what you did, then I'm not willing to make your life easier. You'll lose your rank for this." He said as he stormed out with his wife. Hiroshi cringed as the door to their apartment slammed, more pissed off than ever.

"Well, now you've stepped in it," Kakashi said bluntly.

"But that's what happened!" Hiroshi yelled. "His son called mom…" He couldn't say the word, so he stopped.

"I have a pretty good idea," Kakashi said, saving his son from saying it. "But he's right you know. You could lose your rank because of this. It shows a lack of control, which a shinobi can never have. You have to learn to control your anger. This doesn't just look bad on you, you know."

"I know," Hiroshi said under his breath. "And I am really sorry… I didn't mean to hurt him as badly as I did…"

It ended up that the Hokage did become involved, but Hiroshi didn't lose his rank. He didn't even have to speak to the Hokage, since Asuma beat Daiki's father to her. As soon as Hiroshi had left his house, the jonin went to the Hokage's office and told her exactly what happened. Hiroshi did end up getting some horrible missions as punishment, but it wasn't ever spoken of again between him and his father. Although, he did hear Asuma tell his dad that "the kid deserved every punch" one time.


	3. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Ask and you shall receive right? Thanks for all of the reviews! I really appreciate them and love reading them! Enjoy :)**

Chapter 2

_Thunk thunk thunk_. Hiroshi's shuriken landed against the targets, all not bull's-eyes, but pretty close. He clenched his fist in irritation and tried again, getting just as bad of results. He's been training since he heard what his father said to the Hokage this morning, motivated by the fuel of wanting to prove him wrong. The sun had set about an hour ago, but he was still going strong. _Thunk thunk thunk_.

"Do you need some help?" Kakashi asked as his three shuriken hit the target, all landing in the dead center. Hiroshi jumped and instantly scolding himself for not even noticing his father's presence.

"No, I'm fine," he said stubbornly, pulling out the shuriken and backing up to try again. _Thunk thunk thunk._ Still off. Kakashi stood there, watching but not giving any instruction, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Is this where you've been all day?" he asked as another three shuriken flew towards the target, one hitting the center but the other two barely hit the target.

"Yes," he answered, walking over to pull his shuriken back out. Kakashi sighed.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" he asked. "You seem to be having a bit of trouble."

"I said I'm fine," he said, a bit more harshly than he'd meant to. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Kakashi said, sitting down in the grass, watching Hiroshi miss again and again.

"I'm trying to concentrate," he yelled in aggravation as the last three shuriken he threw flew past the target, not even getting close. He was getting worse.

"You're overtraining," Kakashi said. "You've worked yourself to exhaustion and now all the training you will accomplish will only make you worse."

"I'm not overtraining," he said stubbornly as he searched through the bushes for his shuriken. "I just can't focus with you here."

Kakashi got up and helped him find the shuriken, handing two of them to him but taking the one over to the target.

"Will you please let me show you something?" he asked. Hiroshi sighed and nodded; giving in. "You're holding your hand at a strange angle, which is why they're leaning more to the right." He showed the angle Hiroshi had been throwing them and threw the shuriken, it landing where Hiroshi's had been. "If you throw it more like this," he said, pulling one of his own out and throwing it at the proper angle. Bull's-eye. "You'll be more accurate."

"Wow," Hiroshi said, feeling so completely dumb. "That's such an… academy student mistake," he said angrily, pulling the shuriken out of the target. He'd been practicing wrong for hours, wasting his time completely.

"It's alright," Kakashi said with a shrug. "I use to do the same thing."

_Yeah, but you got over that by the time you were six_, Hiroshi thought to himself as he backed up to try throwing them again.

"No no no, not tonight," Kakashi said, taking the shuriken from his hand. "You look exhausted."

"I'm not tired," Hiroshi said, stifling a yawn. Kakashi rolled his eyes and pocketed Hiroshi's shuriken.

"Fine, you aren't tired, but it's dark out and you have to be hungry. You can always practice more tomorrow," Kakashi said with a shrug as he turned to leave. Hiroshi followed him, shoving his hands in his pockets and trying to hide his embarrassment.

* * *

"So what inspired you to go out and practice for hours?" Kakashi asked as their instant ramen boiled. Hiroshi was sitting at the table, sketching with the new notepad and drawing pencils he'd received for his 11th birthday. His crude drawings that he created when he was younger had flourished into amazing detailed sketches as he grew. It was still his favorite thing to do when he came home from training and needed to unwind.

"I just want to be ready for our mission," he said, sketching away at his drawing of Pakuun. "Guy and Lee are such powerhouses… I don't want to hinder them in any way."

Kakashi stayed silent, stirring their instant dinner that became a tradition every Friday night. Those were the busy nights that they both usually had long days and neither felt like cooking anything, so instant ramen was the meal.

"I wonder why Lady Tsunade chose me for this mission," Hiroshi thought out loud. "She usually gives me the dumb missions of escorting people. The closest I've come to a mission like this was when we delivered that scroll to the emperor."

That had been one of Hiroshi's favorite missions up to date. He was able to see not only a lot of the fire country, but also the kingdom. He even got to meet the emperor! It was also the first time he ever saw his father use the Lightning Blade and his sharingan, both things he'd only ever heard of from people who'd worked with him. Ever since then he's been begging him to teach the signature move to him, but he still was reluctant about it.

"Maybe she's trying to give you more responsibility," Kakashi said, setting a bowl and some chopsticks in front of Hiroshi. He grabbed them with more haste than he'd meant and started eating, a lot hungrier than he'd expected.

"Maybe," he said as he swallowed a mouthful of noodles. "Speaking of more responsibility…"

"No," Kakashi answered. "I'm not teaching you the lightning blade yet." Hiroshi sighed, eating some more noodles.

"But-"

"No," Kakashi said firmly. "There is nothing you can say that will make me change my mind. You aren't ready yet." Hiroshi held in every snide comment that popped in his head and decided to just eat. He didn't feel like having this argument with his dad again. Kakashi never gave him any other excuse than 'you're not ready'. Well, when would he be ready?

He finished eating quickly, pressing his hands together and mumbling a thank you before he put his bowl and chopsticks in the sink. It was Kakashi's night to do dishes, so he wasn't worried about it. Now more than ever, he wanted some alone time, but their one room apartment wouldn't give him that. He grabbed his notepad and started putting on his shoes.

"Where are you-"

"To the roof," he cut off Kakashi, not in a mean way, but in a 'I already know what you're going to ask' way. "I just need some air."

Kakashi didn't question it, being a man who enjoyed some solitude himself, and gave Hiroshi a quick wave before he disappeared out the door. The roof of their apartment had become his bedroom, in the sense that it was the place he could get away from everyone else at. Usually, he had a little alone time while training, but almost always, someone would show up and start training with him, striking up conversation that he really didn't want to have, and pulling him away from whatever he was thinking of. Up here, no one bothered him. His dad only asked that he made sure to not fall asleep out there, which had only happened once or twice.

Taking in a deep breath of the cool air, Hiroshi looked up at the bright night stars, his hand subconsciously touching his mother's pendant that he wore every day since Kakashi had given it to him. _Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven_.

"Hey mom," he said to the sky as he laid back on the roof and rested his head in his arms. "I know you're out there somewhere. You have to be…"

He stared at the sky, as if he was waiting for her to send him a sign, saying 'yes, I'm here!' but, nothing happened. He continued to stare at the stars, trying to hard to picture his mother.

Her memory was fading from him more and more each day. He could still remember some things, like how they drew together all the time, how she wore a mask to work like his dad, how she had the best cooking in the world, and how she use to sing. He could still smell her: the scent of roses and fabric softener. But more and more each day, he started to forget what she looked like. All he had of her, picture wise, was the crude drawings he'd made when he was little, but those only told him what he'd already known. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, just like him.

But was she short or tall? Were her eyes big like his? They had to have been, since his father's weren't very big, but he wasn't sure. Was her hair curly or straight? Had it really been as long as he depicted in his drawings? What about her hands? Were they small or big? Did she have small wrists? He bet she did.

He looked back up at the sky, wanting so badly to ask his dad all of these questions. He had an excellent memory, so he was sure that he remembered. But, Hiroshi had noticed more and more as he grew older and more aware that anytime he mentioned his mom, something changed in his dad. He wasn't sure if it was guilt, regret, or just plain sadness, but it made his father look frail, and he didn't like it. So, he decided against asking him anymore questions about her.

"Um," he said out loud, looking towards the sky. "If you're out there Mom, just know that I really really miss you… Dad and I are doing alright without you, but we can feel where you're supposed to be… I guess, I just hope I don't forget you… Love you." he said, sitting up from where he'd been laying and going back in the house. He'd had enough solitude. Now he just wanted companionship.


	4. Chapter 2B

**Author's Note: THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! Seriously, you guys rock! I love getting review :D because it reminds me that people are reading this! :D Thank you again! Another somewhat happy B chapter before stuff goes down ^_^ I actually just finished writing this entire story this weekend (I wasn't very busy), so I will be posting relatively quickly with chapters. I'm planning on posting chapter 3 tomorrow or Tuesday, and will probably post a new chapter every 4 days ish. I still have to edit and proofread it all. Anywho! On with the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 2.b

_A few years prior._

"You know what's really cool?" An overactive 7 year old Hiroshi asked a distracted Kakashi.

"What?" he asked, thoughts elsewhere. Hiroshi didn't notice though.

"Dinosaurs! Did you know that there were giant lizards that just walked around here before we did?" Hiroshi asked excitedly. Kakashi just nodded, his hands dug deep in his pockets. He would get like this on some days, but this was before Hiroshi noticed. On days like this, when the two were walking Konoha with the sun shining but not overbearing, Kakashi remembered the day he brought Akahana to Konoha.

_ "Just once," she begged as they walked back from reporting on a mission. _

_ "I don't know Akahana… Why do you want to go there so badly?" Kakashi asked, not sure if he wanted his friends to meet her just yet. Plus, all of the trouble they would have to go to in getting her a passport._

_ "I just want to see it," she answered simply, shoving her hands into her pockets with a sigh. "Besides, weren't you saying you needed to get your papers renewed?"_

_ That was true. Kakashi had overstayed his projected time in the Sand Village, but since he had been a huge help in so many important missions, they asked him if he would stay for at least another year, if not longer. _

_ "Yeah, but you've been to Konoha before," he pointed out._

_ "That was at night! I didn't get to see hardly anything!" She whined childishly, in a way that she only did with Kakashi. Around other people, she was much more serious._

"_But do you really want to travel all that way-"_

_ "YES!" she yelled, a few people turning their attention to her. "Pleeasssee."_

"Dad?" Hiroshi asked. Kakashi blinked a few times, realizing he'd stopped walking completely and then started up again, moving a bit faster to catch up with his son.

"I'm sorry," he said with a shake of his head. "What were you saying?"

_"Woooowwww," Akahana whispered to herself as they approached Konoha. "It's… so green here."_

_ "Yeah," Kakashi said with a shrug, not really thinking it was a big deal, but to Akahana, it was the most amazing thing ever. It was strange for Kakashi to see her out of her normal shinobi attire, but the Sand Village insisted she not go as a shinobi but as a citizen. She was one of their best jonin and they knew if Konoha asked to borrow her, they'd have to say no, which could cause trouble within their peace._

_ "Is it this green inside the city?" she asked, almost like a child with her excitement. Even though she had been there, she couldn't even remember what the village looked like. She had been on a mission, and her mind had been focused only on that mission._

_ "If I told you, wouldn't that be spoiling the surprise?" Kakashi asked playfully, only making her huff and cross her arms, but even that didn't last long. She was just too excited to be mad. _

_"Promise me you'll introduce me to your friends!" _

_ "If you insist," Kakashi sighed._

"You aren't listening to me, are you?" Hiroshi asked, obviously annoyed.

"No, I'm listening," Kakashi said automatically.

"Then what'd I just say?" Hiroshi asked.

"Something about dinosaurs," Kakashi replied.

"THAT WAS TWENTY MINUTES AGO!" Hiroshi yelled, now completely annoyed. Kakashi just shrugged.

"Want to get some lunch?"

_"This is the best ramen I've ever had!" Akahana said in between slurps of ramen at the ramen bar. "Aren't you going to have any?"_

_ "I'll pass," he said, not wanting to deal with the drama that came from him taking off his mask._

_ "Alrrigght, but you're missing out," she said as she slurped down some more noodles._

"Aren't you going to get some too Dad?" Hiroshi asked as his dad paid for his lunch at the noodle bar.

"I'll pass."

_ "Well if it isn't my arch rival! Kakashi Hatake! We are overdue for a challenge!" Guy said as he wrapped his arm around Kakashi's shoulder. Akahana stared at him, having no clue what to make of him. "And who is this beautiful little flower blossom?"_

_ "I'm Akahana," she said with a wave. Guy shot her one of his 1000 watt smiles and a thumbs up._

_ "I'm Guy Might, Kakashi's arch rival," he said quickly. "And I want to challenge you!" He pointed back at Kakashi._

_ "I'm kind of busy…" Kakashi said, giving Guy a look. Guy looked at Kakashi, then back at Akahana, then back at Kakashi._

_ "Ohhhhhh," he said, shooting them both a wink. "Ah the beauty of young love!" Both of their faces caught fire. "Well, if you don't want to challenge me-"_

_ "I'll challenge you," Akahana said, getting up from where she was sitting. _

_ "But, you're not my arch rival!" Guy said, shocked that she'd suggest such a thing._

_ "Oh, I guess you're just too chicken to challenge a girl then," Akahana said with a sigh, turning her back to Guy. _

_ "I am not! Akahana, I challenge you to a race around Konoha," Guy said, pointing at her back. _

_ "Challenge accepted," she said over her shoulder._

"He really is out of it today," Asuma said to Hiroshi. Kakashi didn't even notice him sit down. He was too busy staring at the table as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

_"I won I won!" Akahana yelled as she jumped up in the air, barely winded by the race. Guy just stared at her in shock. He hadn't expected her to be that fast and had even offered her a five second head start, which she refused._

_ "You're fast," he said, not knowing what else to say. "And a fair match."_

_ "Why thank you," she said with a grin. Kakashi looked over from his book. He decided to wait at the finish line until the race was over. "I would love to stand here and gloat some more, but we really have to be going."_

_ "Ah yes, the young lovers must reunited for a night of romance and love making yes?" Guy said with flourish, louder than Akahana would've liked._

_ "Uh…" she mumbled, face turning redder by the second. "Right. See you around."_

_ Kakashi was obviously embarrassed too, but he didn't say anything. Instead, they both disappeared, leaving Guy to contemplate either their youthful romance or the fact that he just got his butt handed to him._

_ "He's charming," Akahana said once they made it back to Kakashi's house. "Is this your apartment?"_

"Dad, you're walking so slow," Hiroshi said, walking back a few feet to grab his dad's arm and drag him to their apartment. "I want to get some drawing time in before I have to go train."

"Go on ahead," Kakashi said, wriggling his arm free. "I have somewhere I need to go anyways."

"Oh," Hiroshi said, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright."

_Akahana was one of the only people Kakashi allowed to come with him to the memorial stone. He usually spent his time there reflecting on his long gone friends, but tonight he didn't want to do that. _

_ He wasn't sure how the afterlife worked, or if there even was one, but he knew that when he went to the memorial stone, he could sense them: Obito, Rin, Sensei. They were all there when he went there. He wanted them to meet Akahana. _

_ "So this is the place you've told me about," she said under her breath. It was getting somewhat dark, so it was hard to see the names, but she could assume this was it._

_ "Yeah," Kakashi said, standing where he normally does and tucking his hands into his pockets. Akahana laid down on the ground next to the stone, staring up at the stars._

_ "It's so peaceful here," she said after a few minutes of comfortable silence and after the sun had completely set. "Looking up at the sky here, it's almost like you can see all the people from the past smiling down on you."_

_ Kakashi reluctantly laid down next to her, staring up at the sky. He'd never noticed that, but she was right. The sky seemed so much bigger from there, the stars brighter because they were away from the city. He could feel them now more than ever, all of those people he cared for. _

_ But… it was different. There was one more person here. It didn't feel like an intrusion, but an addition. She had become one of those cherished people. He'd known it at that moment. He would never forget this day, as long as he lived._

Kakashi stood at the stone, wishing that Akahana's name was on it too, but knowing that it wasn't. It was a clear night, just like that one and the air was a reliving cool. Kakashi looked around, making sure no one was around, and then laid in the same spot he'd laid with Akahana all those years ago.

"I don't know if you're here, since this place isn't for you… but, I just want to say thank you for giving me such wonderful memories and for Hiroshi… I can't imagine life without him anymore," he whispered to the sky, hoping with all of his heart that somewhere up there, Akahana could hear him.


	5. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Thank you all for the nice reviews! :D Seriously, they make my heart sing ^_^ Here's the next chapter as promised. Enjoy :)**

Chapter 3

A week had past and there was still no news about their mission. Hiroshi had spent most of the time training with Naruto and enjoying the shinobi's company, but now he was just curious to why Lady Tsunade was dragging her feet with the mission.

"Maybe she wants other shinobi to do it," Naruto said simply as they got ready to spar. Naruto, for whatever reason, was dying to spar Hiroshi, and after begging all week, he finally agreed.

"I don't see why," Hiroshi said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Are we going to talk all day, or are we going to spar?" Naruto asked with a grin painting his face. Hiroshi smirked and charged at him, landing one good kick on his shoulder, and the game began.

Meanwhile, Tsunade sat her in office, deliberating over what to do about this purple beast situation. It hadn't really attacked anyone, but it was seen robbing graves by citizens. Her suspicion that it was Orochimaru grew by the day, figuring that he was the only one who would have any use for dead bodies, but was the team she chose good enough to handle him?

Her first instinct was: of course! Kakashi and Guy were two of Konoha's finest Elite ninja. Hiroshi and Lee were also both the most talented chunin. Plus, Naruto and Sakura had both been being trained by experts. Truly, they were the dream team. But, if Orochimaru was truly the one controlling this demon-like monster, that means Sasuke could be there as well and she didn't want Team 7's emotions to get in the way of the mission.

Maybe she was overloading the mission as well, sending so many shinobi. It wasn't like they were searching for a fight, only answers to what this monster was and why it was lurking about. Finally, she had made her decision.

* * *

"Hiroshi and Guy, I want the two of you to complete this mission," Tsunade said to the jounin and chunin. "I'm concerned that emotions may get in the way of Team 7 and Lee, since this may involve Orochimaru, which means-"

"Sasuke could be there," Guy said with a nod.

"Right. Guy, I want you to patrol the graveyard. If the beast tries to take any bodies, stop it. Hiroshi, you go to the forest. I don't want you fighting this thing unless it's absolutely necessary, understand?" Both shinobi nodded. "Start your patrol tonight. Dismissed."

Hiroshi shuddered a bit at the thought of being by himself for this one. He never did missions on his own, ever, but hey, he was going to have to eventually. This would be good for him.

"I don't like this," Kakashi confided in Guy as he was being treated to ramen for his last victory in their challenges.

"What? The ramen?" Guy asked as he slurped down some more noodles.

"No, Hiroshi and you being assigned this mission alone," he said, cracking apart his chopsticks. "I understand Lady Tsunade's reasoning, but… he's only 11."

"You weren't much older when you became a jounin," Guy pointed out as he got his next bowl of ramen.

"But Hiroshi isn't like me," Kakashi said. "And that isn't a bad thing or anything. I just feel like Tsunade assumed he's at the same level I was when I was his age, but he isn't."

"Give him a little credit. His youthful blood is quite strong, and those legs of his move pretty quick. I was amazed when he beat Lee in that race!" Guy said enthusiastically.

"I do give him credit, but he still has so much to learn. He's hot headed and stubborn and can be a real smartass."

"I wonder where he gets that from," Guy slipped in. Kakashi ignored that.

"And, he just isn't ready," Kakashi said with a sigh. "He needs more time to mature some more."

"Are you sure he's the one who isn't ready?" Guy asked as Kakashi finally started eating. He knew that he wouldn't stop until he'd completely finished, avoiding anyone seeing his face, so he took this time to throw in his two cents. "I'm not saying you hold his hand, because you don't, but you worry about him too much."

"I have the right to worry about my son," Kakashi said as he pulled up his mask, finished with his ramen. "Just… promise me that you'll watch out for him."

"You know damn well I will," Guy said, punching Kakashi's shoulder playfully.

"A turtle?" Hiroshi said, holding the small turtle that Guy handed to him.

"Not just any turtle! It's a special turtle!" Guy said enthusiastically. "If you need my help, just tell the turtle 'help' and it will send me an S.O.S!"

"Alright," Hiroshi said, tucking the small reptile into his vest. This was where he and Guy would part ways, heading in opposite directions. Hiroshi felt a mixture of giddiness and nerves as he walked towards the forest. He kept his guard on, watching the trees the best he could, but the darker it became, the harder watching became. He wasn't sure if he was walking in circle or if he was moving through the deep woods, but he did know that he didn't sense anything other than small animals.

Relaxing a little, Hiroshi chuckled to himself, imagining his father popping in out of nowhere, just to check on him. That wouldn't surprise him in the slightest… Wait... yes it would… After the fight they had before he left, he had a feeling he wouldn't be hearing much from his dad for a while… Before he could ponder on that thought anymore, he realized he had no idea where he was. He'd walked into an opening that he'd never seen before with a huge stone bridge that went across a huge, raging river. Not seeing much out of the ordinary, he walked across most of the bridge and looked down at the drop that would have to be at least a hundred feet, if not more.

"I don't care about reanimation jutsu," a familiar voice said quietly from the direction Hiroshi had come from, startling him. He hurried under the bridge, trying his best to conceal himself.

"You aren't looking at the possibilities Sasuke," a weak sounding voice said angrily. "We could bring back your entire clan and use them as an army to do what we both seek to do."

"Destroy Konoha," Sasuke said under his breath. "But, I first need to kill Itachi. That was the deal. You said you'd teach me what I needed to know to kill him, and I said I'd help you afterwards."

"Patience," the voice hissed as Hiroshi heard their footsteps click against the bridge. "We will be losing some influence once we completely break ties with the Akutski. Once we get what we need, we will focus on your vengeance."

Sasuke scoffed at the thought of having to wait longer to do what he'd been waiting to do for so long. He could taste how close he was to finally having vengeance. He could picture it… Itachi lying in a pool of his own blood, slowly dying. Just like how their parents died.

Hiroshi held his breath as the clicking of shoes moved across where he was hiding. His heart was pounding as he hid, praying that they wouldn't notice him. They moved off the bridge without accident, making Hiroshi release a sigh.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked, turning around quickly. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes," Orochimaru hissed. "We're not alone."

Hiroshi didn't know what to do. He knew if he stayed where he was, they were sure to find him, but if he ran, he'd only be a moving target. There was no way he could fight each of them alone, let alone together.

"Sharingan," Sasuke said quietly. Hiroshi had hesitated too long. He had a three second window to hide or fight. Making a decision, he released the chakra from his feet, sending him flying into the rushing water. He decided against focusing chakra in his feet and landing, only because he knew that would make him an easier target, and more likely than not, break his ankles, so he hit the water hard, grabbing a quick gulp of air before he hit.

His entire body burned from the sting of hitting the water, but he moved against that, swimming with the current as quickly as he could. The river, thankfully, was deeper than he expected, so he tried to stay near the bottom. Instantly, he realized this was the wrong decision as a coating of fire covered the entire length of the river. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold his breath forever.

"Help," he said with as little air as he could to Guy's turtle, who went flying away to find its master.

* * *

Guy was beginning to think that Lady Tsunade was a few cards short of a full deck. He hadn't seen anything that resembled what she described and he'd been guarding for well over three hours. He almost wished he read, because it would give him something to do.

Before he could think about his boring night further, his turtle zipped through the air, smacking into the ground like a crater. He pulled it from the ground and looked at the glowing S.O.S. on its shell. Hiroshi was in trouble.

He quickly shoved the shell in his pocket and hurried towards the woods, focusing on sensing his chakra. He wasn't even able to pick it up until about three minutes of being in the forest, but it was faint. _How far did this kid go?_

He didn't have time to mull over that thought, or the fact that Hiroshi must be very youthful to have the stamina to wander deep into the woods. He just followed the chakra he was sensing, ignoring anything else, until he reached the opening with the bridge and the river that was glowing with a raging fire. Guy had seen the jutsu before, it being one of the treasured ones of the Uchiha clan, and immediately knew who was the cause of this. He didn't know if he should search for Sasuke or try and find Hiroshi until he remembered what he told Kakashi. He promised he'd watch out for Hiroshi, so, without wasting anymore time, he jumped off the bridge, landing on the small patches of land near the river.

"Hiroshi?" he yelled, trying to look through the deep water for the boy. He ran further down the river, sensing him as he moved closer, until he finally saw him. He was snagged on a rock near the bottom of the water, either unconscious or worse…. Knowing that he couldn't hesitate, Guy performed a severe leaf hurricane, blowing out some of the flames above the water, making an opening for him to jump in. He dove to the bottom and yanked Hiroshi's sleeve out from under the rock. Knowing he didn't have much time left to get out of the water before the flames returned, he held the boy bridal style and shot himself out of the water like a bullet. He ran faster than he'd ever ran before, feeling deep in his stomach that he was already too late.


	6. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: As always, thank you guys so much for reviews :D Here's the next chapter. Expect the next one by Wednesday at the very latest. *Time for some shameless self promotion* If you are interested, I do have a prequel to Small Surprises going called The Steep and Thorny Way to Heaven. It's about how Kakashi and Akahana met, and stuff. *Shameless self promotion over* :) Enjoy.**

Chapter 4

Hiroshi blinked as he slowly woke up. Had he really fallen asleep in the woods? He doesn't remember sitting down to rest for a while, but he must've because he was sitting in them, the bridge nowhere to be seen. Strangely though, his chest felt heavy, like someone was pressing on it, but besides that, he felt nothing. Shaking it off, he began walking until he saw the glow of a flame and the outline of a person. He ran over, grabbing a kunai knife out of his pouch.

"Who are you?" he asked, running over to the man. The strangely familiar shinobi turned and faced him.

"A friend," he answered, running a hand through his hair. Hiroshi wasn't sure if this was someone's cheap imitation of his father in an attempt to trick him, but there was something in him telling him to trust this man.

"I wasn't expecting to find anyone out here," Hiroshi said, sitting down on one of the many logs around the fire.

"To be honest, I wasn't either," he said, staring into the flame. Hiroshi stared too, holding his hands out in front of it to warm them.

"I don't like fire," Hiroshi said out of the blue. "It's always kind of scared me."

"But your favorite color is red," the man said, startling Hiroshi.

"How did you know that?" he asked, not so much frightened as he was confused. A sense of calm swept over him.

"A good guess," the man said, staring back into the fire. Hiroshi felt a drop of rain hit his forehead and looked up at the sky. It wasn't supposed to rain tonight.

"Why do I feel like I know you?" Hiroshi asked the man, who was also staring at the sky, surprised by the rain.

"I knew your father very well," he answered.

"You kind of look like him," Hiroshi said. "It's almost eerie."

"So I've been told," he said with a smile. A sudden cold swept over Hiroshi along with a stinging sensation. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself. "You're trying your damndest, aren't you?" The man asked the sky. Hiroshi just stared at him, so confused. A few more drops of rain fell against his forehead. He almost wanted to count them.

Oddly enough, it didn't seem as though it was raining on anything else but him, and the drops were hitting his forehead and his chest, but not his feet. Every so often, he'd feel a tinge of pain as his lungs felt as though they were being torn out. The man just sat there, talking to the sky.

"You aren't one to give up," he said to the sky as it rained harder on Hiroshi. "Just keep trying." He felt more pain shoot through him, his vision starting to blur around the edges. "That a boy!"

"Wait," Hiroshi said as the image of the man disappeared. "What's your name?"

"My name?" he asked, his voice becoming distant. "Sakumo."

"Sakumo," Hiroshi said to himself as more and more pain shot through him, making him fall to his knees.

"Sakumo," an even more familiar female voice said. "Who was that?"

"Just a visitor," Sakumo said as Hiroshi was sucked out of the womb-like comfort and into reality.

* * *

_"He's going to be okay,"_ A voice said. Hiroshi knew the voice, but he couldn't place a name. He felt a weight pressing him into something warm and then being released. Was it still raining? He could feel water drops still hitting his face.

He could hear more voices, but they were moving over one another. He was becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, realizing that he was in some sort of bed, that there was some sort of light on that was hurting his eyes, even though he couldn't open them, and that everything hurt. His entire body felt as though it had been pressed under a boulder.

A few more raindrops. Was he outside? There aren't any beds outside though. That doesn't make any sense.

_"I'll stay here, in case something happens," _another familiar voice said. It was a different voice, but he couldn't place a name to this one either. More and more rain. Was someone touching his head? Yes… His hair was being moved from his face.

Footsteps clicked against… tile was it? And a sound happened… Maybe a door closing. He couldn't be sure.

_"Lady Tsunade said he'd be okay," _the second familiar voice said in a comfortable tone. So it was Lady Tsunade who said the first thing he heard? He felt another tight squeeze and then like he was being let go, something being tucked around him.

_"I know,"_ his dad said. He'd know his dad's voice anywhere, but it was raw sounding, like he was choking.

Suddenly, he became more aware of everything. He could smell the sterilized air of a hospital and feel the coarseness of hospital bed blankets. His father was sitting next to him, tucking his blankets tight around him like he use to when Hiroshi had nightmares. Standing at a distance, near the corner of the room, was Sakura. She was the other voice.

Hiroshi took a deep breath, not sure if he'd be able to move or not. He took this time to go over what happened, one question at the time. Why was he sore? He fell off of a bridge a few hundred feet. What about his lungs? They were probably filled with water… How is he alive? To hell if he knows.

"Hiroshi?" his father asked after clearing his throat and placing his hand on Hiroshi's forehead. "Can you hear me?" Hiroshi focused, trying to make his mouth move. He couldn't get it to though, so he decided to make his head nod. That he could do.

Kakashi sighed in relief, removing his hand from his son's head. Sakura came over to him and started prodding him, which really pissed him off.

"Can you feel this?" she asked, poking his hand with a pencil. He nodded, even though he really wanted to tell her to cut it out. "What about this?" she asked, poking his foot. He nodded again. "Do you think you can speak?" _If I could, wouldn't I be?_ He thought to himself. He tightened his eyes and forced them open, looking around the hospital room without moving. There was a light on above him, which hurt his eyes, but besides that the room was mostly empty, except for the bed, a chair and the people in it. His dad was sitting in the chair next to him and man did he look like a mess. His hair was a whirlwind around his head and he was only wearing half of his shinobi uniform, the vest and his headband forgotten in the process of getting here. His eyes were red, making Hiroshi's heart hurt at the thought of his dad crying. His attention was turned away from this when Sakura poked his foot with a kunai knife and he shot her the most pissed off glare he could manage.

"Doesn't seem like there's any nerve damage," she said, walking over to him and shining a flashlight in his eyes.

"DAMNIT!" exploded from Hiroshi's mouth as his eyes squeezed shut. He could hear a slight chuckle coming from his dad.

"Eyes are sensitive," she noted. Now he could hear the scratching of a pencil. Alright, she was filling out his chart. "Can you speak now Hiroshi?"

"Kinda, I think," he said, even though his tongue felt heavy and his voice sounded like a middle aged chain smoker's. "Can you turn off that light?" Behind his eyelids, he saw the light disappear. He opened his eyes again, seeing his dad over next to the light switch and Sakura way too close to him. "Hello there Sakura."

"Welcome back Hiroshi," she said with a smile.

"What happened?" he asked as it became easier and easier to talk. Kakashi walked over, sitting back down in the chair.

"We were going to ask you the same question," Kakashi said. "But if you mean by what happened since you've been unconscious, you'll have to ask Guy. He told me that he found you trapped in the river and brought you here. Not to scare you or anything, but you were dead when I got here."

"I was dead?" he asked, blinking a few times.

"For only a few minutes… But Guy said when he found you, you were barely alive," Sakura said. "It's a miracle, that's for sure." Hiroshi didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about being dead or anything like that… Was Sakumo talking to them when he was talking to the sky then?

"Oh…" was all Hiroshi could think to say. He closed his eyes again, feeling flat out exhausted. "Dad."

"Yes?" Kakashi asked, his voice steadily returning to normal with every word.

"Dad, I am so sorry about…" he stopped, realizing Kakashi wouldn't want Sakura to hear about what they were fighting about "Were you crying?" he asked, completely changing the subject to something he already knew the answer to. Kakashi let out a relieved chuckle.

"Can you blame me?" was all he said back, putting his hand back on Hiroshi's head, as if to say that he was sorry too. Hiroshi needed to tell them what he saw, as much as he'd rather go to sleep.

"I'm going to go get you some medicine so you can sleep for the night," Sakura said as she walked to the door.

"Wait," Hiroshi said quickly, before she left. "I have to tell you what I saw."

"It can wait for the morning," Kakashi said as Sakura walked out the door. "You need to rest."

Hiroshi racked his brain, trying to remember what direction Sasuke and Orochimaru had been moving it. They came from the same direction he had come… so they were moving away from Konoha. That means, he has time. He can rest.

Before he could think about the details anymore, he felt a pinch on the side of his arm and then his brain turned to mush. That medicine worked fast.


	7. Chapter 4B

**Author's Note: Glad to see everyone enjoyed the last chapter! I wasn't sure how it would be taken, so yeah! Thanks for all the reviews, you guys seriously rock! ^_^ Here's a little B chapter about what happened between Guy finding Hiroshi and Hiroshi waking up. Even though this story is done (minus editing, which takes forever), I'm not sure how regular my posting will be because I'm starting an internship next week, so we'll see. Other than that warning, enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 4.b

"Lady Tsunade!" Guy Sensei shouted as he dashed into her office, where she was half asleep. She blinked awake, preparing to yell at him, until she saw what he was holding. Cradled in his arms was the body of Hiroshi Hayashi Hatake, waterlogged, shivering, and as pale as death. "You have to help him."

She took him from Guy and disappeared into one of the rooms at the hospital, Guy following behind her. She pulled off his vest and shirt quickly, pressing her head against his chest, searching for any sort of pulse while Guy told her what happened.

"Go get Sakura," she demanded. "And be quick!" Guy ran as fast as he could to Sakura's apartment, practically destroying her door from banging on it so hard. She scurried over and opened it, about to bitch him out, until she saw the look on his face.

"Lady Tsunade said to get you. Hiroshi's hurt and she needs your help," Guy said quickly, tears welling up in his eyes. Sakura didn't hurry, assuming that Guy was being overdramatic. She regretted that as soon as she made it to Lady Tsunade.

Meanwhile, Guy knew he shouldn't get in their way, but he had to tell someone, anyone about what happened.

"Yo, Guy Sensei? Are you crying?" Naruto asked as he approached the jonin.

"Naruto! It's terrible! Hiroshi is dying!" he wept, grabbing onto the genin for comfort. Naruto thought the same thing as Sakura, that Guy was being overdramatic.

"Did he get a splinter or something?" Naruto joked, but it only made Guy cry harder. "Guy Sensei, don't you think you're being stupid? I'm sure he's fine."

"He is most definitely not fine!" Guy blubbered. Naruto rolled his eyes and pushed Guy off of him.

"I'll go check for myself then," Naruto said, running over to the hospital, and letting himself in. As soon as he felt the tension in the air, he realized Guy wasn't being stupid. He walked in the direction of the stress, able to walk through the hospital with no problems and slid the door of the room slightly open. He saw Tsunade and Sakura, hands glowing, pumping Hiroshi's chest. He froze, unsure what to do, but then realized Kakashi Sensei wasn't there. Did he know what was going on? The genin dashed out of the building and towards Kakashi's apartment.

"Kakashi Sensei!" Naruto yelled, banging on the door. Kakashi leaped out of his skin, realizing that he fell asleep reading, which was embarrassing. He'd planned on staying up all night, in case something bad happened. Suddenly, he had the sinking suspicion that something did. He threw open the door to a pale faced Naruto.

"What's wrong?" he asked, closing his apartment door and stepping outside with Naruto.

"Hiroshi… I don't know what happened, but he's really messed up," Naruto said quickly. Kakashi's stomach plummeted as he forced himself to move and ran with Naruto. They both stopped at the door to the emergency room, where he could hear Tsunade yelling at Sakura.

"You can't be running low on chakra!" she screamed, not mad at Sakura, but just frustrated. Kakashi let himself in, closing his eyes because he didn't want to know what was happening.

"You can use mine," he said, eyes still closed. He realized he'd have to walk over to them, so he opened his eyes and saw his son, causing his heart to break in half. Hiroshi was as white as the sheets he laid on, his lips dark purple, but his face peaceful. Tsunade and Sakura both had their hands on his chest, using chakra to try and move his blood in an attempt to kick start his organs as well as doing reparative work and pushing the water out of his lungs. Kakashi forced himself to walk over and place his hand on Sakura's, transferring his chakra. Naruto let himself inside, and grabbed a chair for Kakashi, realizing that his knees were knocking as if he were about to fall over. He sat down, using all of his willpower to focus on giving Sakura chakra and not crying.

That was hard, not only because of the scene in front of him, but because Sakura herself was crying as she pushed more and more chakra through him. _Come on. Come on_. Kakashi thought, wishing he could turn back the clock. He remembered the conversation they had before Hiroshi left, more likely than not, the last conversation they'll ever have.

_Hiroshi was finishing getting ready, tying his headband tightly and packing some last minute weapons. Kakashi was pretending not to care, sitting on his bed and reading a book._

_ "Be careful," Kakashi said, putting his book down._

_ "I will," Hiroshi said with a little more attitude than usual._

_ "No need to get pissy," Kakashi said back. _

_ "I'm not. I just wish you'd trust me for once," Hiroshi grumbled as he put on his sandals._

_ "I would if I thought you could handle this, but you can't Hiroshi," Kakashi reasoned._

_ "You went on harder missions when you were my age," he said, the argument he always used._

_ "You aren't me," Kakashi said simply._

_ "You're right," he said angrily. "I'm not you. But, everyone in the village thinks I am."_

_ "What do you mean?" he asked, not sure why Hiroshi was the one getting mad now._

_ "I mean, I have big shoes to fill dad! Everyone looks up to you and they're expecting me to be at least as good yet I can't throw a shuriken straight!" he yelled._

_ "Don't yell," Kakashi said sharply._

_ "I'm not yelling!" Hiroshi yelled back._

_ "Yes, you are," he said. Hiroshi clenched his fist. _

_ "You know, sometimes I wish Mom was still around," he said under his breath._

_ "Me too. Then I wouldn't have to deal with you," Kakashi said, instantly regretting it. He saw Hiroshi flinch, as if he'd just slapped him across the face. "Hiroshi, I didn't mean-"_

_ But he was gone, slamming the door behind him._

Kakashi could feel himself crying now, but he didn't care. His son was dying or dead and the last thing he ever said to him was that he didn't want him around. He pressed his hand into Sakura's tighter and put his other hand on Hiroshi's head. _Please don't let him die. Not so young, and not like this._


	8. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Thank you all for the nice reviews and the nice wishes for my internship! I wanted to get this posted because of that and have decided to try and stick to a semi strict schedule of a new chapter posted every 3-5 days. Anyways, thanks for reading and being awesome! Enjoy the new chapter. : )**

* * *

Chapter 5

Hiroshi thought that yesterday, he felt the most pain he'd ever felt. Today was so much worse. Not only was his body so sore, but Tsunade and Sakura were poking and jabbing him every three seconds with sharp objects while his father slept peacefully in the chair next to his bed.

"I don't know how it worked, but it did," Tsunade said over and over as they checked him. "I guess it just wasn't your time."

"Something like that," Hiroshi said, moving his neck. He was slowly gaining back control of his body, which was nice, but meant more pain as he moved around and figured out what was hurting. "Listen, Lady Tsunade, I have to tell you about what I saw…"

"Of course," she said, sending Sakura out of the room. She considered sending Kakashi out too, but he was out cold, so she figured it wouldn't do any harm just leaving him there. "Go ahead."

"Okay," Hiroshi said, going through the details in his head one more time. "I was patrolling the woods and it was really dark and I didn't really know where I was so I wandered around until I found this huge bridge with this giant river."

"I know where you're talking about," she said, grabbing a notepad out of the bedside table and writing that down. "Continue."

"Well, I never had seen it before so I ran across it and was looking at the water when I heard voices. So, I hid under the bridge. Now… I didn't see the people who were talking, but one of them sounded like Sasuke… He was talking about vengeance against his brother and how he wanted to hurry up and accomplish that, and whoever he was travelling with reminded him of some sort of promise he made to him to help destroy Konoha…" Tsunade's pen froze and she looked back up at Hiroshi.

"You're sure that's what he said?" she asked.

"Positive," he said quickly. "They also were talking about reanimation jutsu and some influence they have with the Akutski or something." Tsunade just paused, absorbing the information, and then turned to leave.

"Thank you for telling me this Hiroshi," she said. "I have to go now, but I'll have Sakura check on you in a little while."

"But wait… What happens now?" he asked, not wanting to admit that he was scared. He saw the sheer power of one of them just through how they had enough chakra to light an entire river on fire for a pretty long time… He couldn't imagine anyone having to fight one of them.

"Don't worry about it," she said simply, leaving in a hurry and closing the door behind her. As Tsunade walked out, a new visitor walked in.

"HIROSHI!" Guy bellowed, running over to the boy and grabbing him in a spine breaking hug. "You would not believe how happy I am to see that you are youthful and alive again and not… dead!"

"You're hurting me Guy," Hiroshi grunted. Guy let go of him, still glowing with happiness. "and yeah, I'm happy to not be dead too."

"What happened exactly?" he asked, still checking Hiroshi's arms and face to make sure he wasn't damaged.

"I don't want to talk about it…" he sighed, pulling his arm away from Guy, which hurt a ton, but hey, at least his arm was working. "I told Tsunade and she seemed like she was going to take care of it." Guy nodded thoughtfully and looked over at his sleeping arch rival. He looked as though he was going to pounce on him and scare him awake, but he chose against it, figuring that he must've been up most of the night with Hiroshi.

Hiroshi knew for a fact that he'd been up almost all night. Even though he slept deeply, he could still feel his father's presence around him, touching his head every so often, checking his pulse. Just little things. It just reiterated how much he hadn't meant what he'd said to Hiroshi before his left for his mission.

"I have to go train, to be in tip top shape to fight whatever did this to you!" Guy said overdramatically as in his head he was thinking about Sasuke. "Rest up Hiroshi!

"Thanks," he said simply, closing his eyes. He remembered that guy, Sakumo, the one he'd seen when he was…. Would it be called dreaming? He didn't know. He didn't want to think that it was limbo… but he'd heard something else that had been bothering him. Another voice as he was waking up. He knew who it belonged to as soon as he heard it, but why would his mom be in limbo?

* * *

"So all you need is a piece of their DNA?" Orochimaru asked in a tired voice as their newest ally, Yuichi explained his new discovery.

"Exactly," he said nervously. "One strand of DNA and I can recreate their body. Within this simple vessel would be all of the abilities learned throughout that person's life before they died."

"What's the catch?" Sasuke asked, knowing it couldn't be that easy.

"The 'catch' is that the bodies don't last long, and you can only control one at a time," Yuichi said with a sigh. "I'm sure after more experimentation I will be able to work past these-"

"We don't have the time for that," Orochimaru hissed. "Give us some time to strategize and then we will return to you with whom we've chosen for you to perform this with."

"Excellent," he said excitedly. "Do you think this means…"

"If all goes well, we will tell the Akutski about you," Sasuke said, disgusted by this man's desire to be in such a group. "That is only if everything goes well."

"Oh it will," Yuichi assured. "And, if you want, I have a shinobi of my own that I was planning to bring back… with this new experimental method I've been trying. She may be some use to you."

* * *

"Good morning," Hiroshi said as Kakashi woke up. "Could you not move for one second though?"

"Why?" Kakashi asked warily.

"I just need to finish a few details," he said as he finished a sketch of his dad sleeping in the chair. "Okay, you can move now."

Kakashi got up and walked over to his son's side, looking over his shoulder at the picture.

"Wow, that's really good," he said, amazed by how much detail was put into the picture. "You really have a talent."

"Maybe in a second life I'll be an artist instead of a shinobi," Hiroshi kidded as he flipped the page and started another sketch. He wanted to draw the man he saw in his dream, Sakumo. The vision of him wouldn't leave his head, so he thought maybe if he drew him, it would settle his mind some.

"How are you feeling?" Kakashi asked as he watched his son sketch, putting a protective hand on his shoulder.

"Better than expected. Sakura said I'm bouncing back faster than they thought I would and there's a possibility that I'll be able to go home tomorrow. Maybe even start missions again by the end of the week," he said, only paying half attention to his dad. He wanted this drawing to be perfect.

"You shouldn't rush it. We want to give your body enough time to get use to being… functioning again," Kakashi said, trying to not say the words 'alive' and 'dead'.

"I guess," Hiroshi said with finality. He really didn't feel like talking right now, but for some reason, his dad really wanted to.

"What are you drawing?" Kakashi asked.

"A person," he said simply, not wanting to freak his dad out. Kakashi figured as much and paced a bit. Hiroshi just kept sketching away, not having the slightest clue to why his dad was pacing. "Is something bothering you?"

"Kind of," he said simply, stopping to crack his knuckles and then continuing his pacing. "I'm just trying to think of the right wording."

"Take your time," Hiroshi said back, hoping that he'd take enough time that he could finish his drawing. After a few minutes, Kakashi stopped pacing and turned to face Hiroshi.

"Last night was probably the most terrified I've been in a really long time," Kakashi said finally. Hiroshi looked up, his drawing almost done. "I swore to myself a long time ago that I would rather die before I saw you in the hospital again because it's just… too painful to see. You're such a frail looking person," Kakashi saw Hiroshi about to interrupt him "even though, I know you aren't. I'm just… your father. I feel the need to protect you… And, I think in trying to protect you, I've been a little-"

"Overbearing?" Hiroshi offered.

"That," Kakashi said finally. "It's so out of my character to be like that, that I didn't even know I was doing it. That is, until I remember my father doing the same thing to me. You were right when you said that I had advanced in ranks when I was very young, but my father wasn't very happy about it to say the least. He thought the same thing I think now: they were stealing my childhood. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. I was just happy to be 'grown up' and to be respected." Hiroshi went back to his sketch, finishing it while he was listening to his dad. "Then my dad died, and I realized that I was still a kid. He wasn't there to protect me anymore, and while I told myself I didn't need it, looking back, I did. I think… maybe in my head I'm trying to overcompensate with you. I'm trying to make sure you know that I will always have your back and protect you to the best of my ability."

"I know that Dad," Hiroshi said, adding the last details.

"I know you do. But, I'm also not naïve. I know I won't be around forever, but I still want a way to protect you, even when I'm gone," Kakashi said with a smile. "That's why, I've decided to teach you the lightning blade."

Hiroshi dropped his pencil and looked back up at his dad with huge eyes. He wasn't expecting the conversation to turn to that. If anything, he thought that his dad would tell him that because he wanted to protect him, he wasn't going to let him go on such difficult missions, but not this…

"Wait… really?" Hiroshi asked, staring at his dad.

"Yes," Kakashi said solidly. "But before you start celebrating, there are some rules. 1, no using it in out of training situations until I say you're ready. 2, you can't practice it too much in one day, or you'll probably die. And 3, please be care-"

"THANK YOU SO MUCH DAD YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED!" Hiroshi yelled before he could finish his sentence. Kakashi just sighed and nodded as his son grinned at him. "So when are you going to teach me?"

"As soon as you get Lady Tsunade's seal of health. Until then, you aren't doing any training," he said sternly, walking back over to Hiroshi. He froze when he saw his picture. "Who's that?"

"Huh?" Hiroshi said, his mind in other places. He looked down at his picture. "Oh, well… okay, promise me you won't freak out."

"I won't freak out," Kakashi said, holding up his hand to signify him promising.

"When I was… yeah, not living, I was in this really strange limbo like place. It kind of looked like a place in the woods. Anyways, this man was sitting there and talking to me," Hiroshi said, staring at the picture as he wrote Sakumo in the corner. Kakashi just said a silent thank you to his father as he stared in amazement at the picture.


	9. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Hey everyone, thanks for all of the reviews and the continued support with this and with my internship! ^_^ Internship is going well, but I was beat this weekend, so I almost forgot to post :O But I didn't! ^_^ So here's the new chapter, I hope you all like it (even though it's a little short) : ) Enjoy. **

* * *

Chapter 6

"Wake up Dad," Hiroshi whined with irritation as he nudged his sleeping father. Kakashi brushed him off, rolled over and pulled his pillow over his head. Hiroshi had been home for over a week now and he finally received Tsunade's blessing to start training again. "You said you'd teach me the lightning blade today!"

"Tomorrow," Kakashi mumbled as he started falling back asleep. While Hiroshi had been healing, Kakashi was filled in on what had happened exactly by Tsunade. Since then, he's been patrolling and researching, trying to help discover what their next move will be. This meant more all-nighters than he was use to.

"You said tomorrow yesterday!" Hiroshi yelled, shoving his dad with his foot now. "Please!"

"Alright, alright," Kakashi said, pulling himself out of bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"YES!" Hiroshi jumped in excitement, running to grab his clothes and then dashing into the shower.

"He's full of pep this morning…" Kakashi mumbled to himself as he started making coffee. Hiroshi took the quickest shower in the history of the universe and was still sopping wet as he was trying to put on his clothes, which were just sticking to him because he was wet. "I don't know why you're hurrying. I'm in no hurry."

"Mehh!" Hiroshi just yelled at him as he pulled his shirt and pants back off and dried himself off a bit. "I'm just really excited!"

"Just don't get too excited," Kakashi said as he poured himself some coffee.

"But. But. But. It's the lighting blade! The coolest jutsu ever," Hiroshi said like it was the coolest thing in the world as he yanked new clothes on. "I mean, once I learn it, it'll probably be the strongest jutsu I know."

"And it isn't to be used lightly-"

"I knowwwww, you've already given me this speech. Just pick up the pace Old Man and let's gooooo!"

"Our goal is to get Naruto," Sasuke said simply, "so why not bring back his parents? He wouldn't fight them and both of them were good shinobi."

"That wouldn't work," Orochimaru sighed. "If we brought them both back, they could turn on us. Yuichi said it himself, while they are puppets for the most part, their souls can return if triggered by a connection."

"Then who else could we pick?" Sasuke asked.

"I think that we shouldn't be aiming for the Fox just yet," Orochimaru said. "Now, we've already established that Tsunade has kept Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake around him as his protection."

"Sakura will be easy to take down. She's a pushover," Sasuke said aloofly. "Kakashi however…"

"Exactly. I think we should focus on taking him down first. He's one of the strongest shinobi in the leaf, so even if he is replaced, it will be a major disadvantage to them," Orochimaru said with finality.

"But who should we choose to bring back?" Sasuke asked.

"I have a few ideas."

"Okay, the hand signs are the easiest part, so we'll start with that," Kakashi said once they finally made it to the training field. He slowly performed the ox, rabbit, and monkey signs, but didn't release the chakra to finish the jutsu. "Try that."

After three tries, Hiroshi was able to do the hand signs at the appropriate speed. He couldn't help but think that this was going to be easy. He's been out here for ten minutes and he's already got the hand signs down.

"Now, you have to focus your chakra to your hand as soon as you finish the signs. It's the same sort of concept as Naruto's Rasengan. Imagine a small point in the palm of your hand and try and focus your chakra there. It should spread, since that's just how the jutsu works, but the focus point needs to be in the palm of your hand so it deals the right amount of damage. Otherwise, it is almost a completely useless technique," Kakashi said almost with a shrug.

"Got it," Hiroshi said, doing the hand signs quickly and then focusing. Nothing happened. Not even a spark.

"You have to instantly focus, or it won't work. You should probably practice with other things…" Kakashi was starting to think this was a bad idea.

"No, I've got it," Hiroshi said, giving it another go. Nothing, again. He didn't know what he was doing wrong. Kakashi was racking his brain, trying to think of another way of explaining it, but he really couldn't. It wasn't something you could explain. You just had to be able to do it.

"Your chakra may still be weak," Kakashi pointed out. Hiroshi ignored him as he rapidly did the hand signs and tried again. When nothing happened, he started getting pissed. He cursed under his breath and tried again. Same results, only now he felt exhausted. "Hiroshi, are you okay?"

"I just need to sit down," he said, falling flat on his butt and sticking his head between his knees. Everything felt blurry. Now he knew why his dad said not to practice it so much. If he wasn't even getting a spark and his chakra was doing this, he couldn't imagine what it would be like when he does get it to work.

"Take a break. You can try again tomorrow," Kakashi said, patting Hiroshi on the head. "Do you want any help with anything else?"

"No, I'm okay," Hiroshi said, looking up to make sure he wasn't too dizzy. He seemed fine.

"Okay. Don't train too much longer. And drink some water. I have to go work with Lady Tsunade about…. Nevermind," Kakashi cut himself off. He wasn't supposed to be telling anyone about his mission. Hiroshi just waved goodbye as his father disappeared.

"Just one more try," he said to himself as he pulled himself off the ground. Ox, rabbit, monkey, and focus. _Come on! Come on!_ Nothing except falling flat on his butt again. "I need to go home."

He pulled himself off the grass once the world stopped spinning around him and started walking home. All of his previous excitement had been completely drained from his body by all of the chakra he used. He just couldn't understand why the lighting blade wasn't working! He remembered when Sasuke learned it, it took him two tries before it worked fine, and he was only a genin.

At any rate, Hiroshi knew he couldn't do it and that wouldn't be changing that day. He went home, drank some water, relaxed for a bit, until he got to thinking. Why was he giving up so easily? Sasuke almost killed him. He was planning on destroying the village all for the sake of getting revenge. And they'd be back soon. He knew they would be. He would have to be prepared for them. That in itself was enough inspiration for him to get up and run back to the practice field, just for a few more tries.

* * *

"Get up," Kakashi said to Hiroshi, who was passed out at the training grounds. He didn't look particularly happy.

"Oh, hi," Hiroshi said, sitting up but immediately lying back down. He was still dizzy. Kakashi sighed and scooped up the boy, carrying him in a different direction than home. "Where are we going?"

"I'm exhausted. You're exhausted. We're staying somewhere a little closer," he said simply, walking to a house on another part of town. He dug his keys out of his pockets and slid one into the lock. "Please work," he mumbled to himself as the door unwillingly unlocked and let the two inside. Kakashi walked through the dark into the kitchen of the house, grabbing some candles from the drawer and lighting them.

"Where are we?" Hiroshi asked tiredly. "You didn't just break into someone's house?"

"No, I didn't. Technically speaking, this is my house. I just haven't been here in years," Kakashi said, holding a candle so he could see. Hiroshi wanted to look around, but at the same time was way too tired to care. All he remembered after the candle was being put in a bed and falling asleep. He didn't even have time to wonder why they were living in an apartment when they had a house.


	10. Chapter 6B

**Author's Note (Mega Long Author's Note of SHAME): Okay, so a funny thing happened yesterday when I was editing parts of this story that were coming up. I was reading them and reading them and thought "fuck, this sounds way too much like it should be a Disney Movie". So, I thought "well, let me try and rework it and see if that helps". It didn't. So, then I decided to scrap the second half of the story and start over. Luckily, none of these chapters have been posted yet, so it isn't like I'm changing the story as far as you guys will know, but trust me on this, there was a lot of "destiny" and magic-like qualities to the version I wrote, and it was pretty cheesy. I mean, if it took place during the original Naruto timeline, it would've been fine, but Naruto Shippuden is definitely darker and so it doesn't feel right that this had practically a Disney ending when it took place during that time (not ragging on Disney, cause I love them, just saying that it wasn't Narutoesque). Also, there were some characters that I kinda used but not enough for me to actually use them, so they were kinda just thrown in and I didn't like that. So, I have chapter 8 and half of chapter 9 done, but this means I no longer have that awesome little cushion of chapters that I can post every three to five days. I know I'll post chapter 8 probably Monday or Wednesday because I do want to write more before I post after this, plus I want to make sure that I like this change better (which I think I do). So my apologies times 1,000,000,000!**

**Normal Author's Note: :) Thanks for the steady reviews and support! It makes me super happy ^_^ Posting two chapters today because this one is really short (this author's note might be just as long as it. woops.) So yeah, enjoy! :D**

* * *

Chapter 6.B

No matter how exhausted Kakashi was, he could get the visions to go away. All of the sounds, sights, smells, feelings…everything was bombarding his head. Just the fact that he was getting sensory overload from memories was annoying enough, but even when he pushed through the fog, it was only to remember that from where he laid, through a wall and less than 100 feet away, his father had taken his own life.

As a kid, Kakashi always could never make sense of it. He went from hating his father to loving his father to hating himself to becoming egotistical. Back and forth his emotions bounced around until he finally just felt close to nothing. He couldn't wrap his little brain around why his dad did that, and could only come up with the explanation at first that he had done something wrong. Once he found out about the mission, his entire outlook on being a shinobi changed.

Finding his father's body had been an out-of-body experience. Everytime he remembered it, he saw it third person rather than in the first person he experienced it in. The psychologist he'd been forced to see after Obito died told him this was a kind of coping mechanism he was using to try and pull himself away from the experience.

It had been late at night, probably three or four in the morning, and something woke him up. He can't remember if he'd heard something or if he couldn't sleep anymore, but he was awake, and he had always had the habit of going into his father's room and snooping through his books if he woke up early. So, he got up and quietly walked to his father's room, making sure to not step on any of the creaky wood on the floor.

Slowly, he opened the door of his father's room, smiling to himself about all of the books he was going to find and maybe he could read one. All of that went away once he opened the door. The first thing he noticed was the sticky smell of blood. It was dark, so he didn't see anything, but that smell invaded his nose and made him want to vomit.

"Dad?" he called out as he walked into the room, trying to find the kerosene lamp that was on his dad's night table. After feeling around the side of the wall, he found it and turned it on. Lying on the floor was his father crumpled into himself, blood flowing freely from him. "Dad!"

Kakashi ran over to his dad, falling to his knees in front of him and pulling the kunai knife that was buried into his stomach out of him. He didn't know what to do, or what was going on or why his dad was dead. All he felt was an overwhelming sense of loneliness. His dad was dead, and there was nothing he could do about it, so, as if this would bring him back, Kakashi curled up next to him on the floor, taking his blood covered hand and putting it over top of him, just like his father would when Kakashi slept with him during thunderstorms. He laid his head against his cold chest, closed his eyes, and wished the entire world away.

Now 31 year old Kakashi got up out of bed and walked across the hall to his old bedroom, still avoiding every creak in the wood. He gently slid open the door and looked at Hiroshi, who was fast asleep. That day that Hiroshi had finally realized Akahana wasn't coming back was one of the most painful things for Kakashi to see, mostly because he saw his own self in him. But now, when he looks at his son, he sees someone who has overcome it, who has pushed past it all and just works hard. He sees someone that he is overwhelmingly proud of.

Another feeling hits him though, as he watches his son sleep off the exhaustion of overtraining. As he got older, he understood why his father did what he did; at least he can see the logic. He wanted to spare his son's name and restore some scrap of honor to them, so he did the most honorable thing he could think to do. Being a father himself now though, Kakashi couldn't imagine abandoning his son like that, no matter how much shame or dishonor was brought to their names. It had nothing to do with being a coward and afraid to do that if he had to. He just knew that his son needed him, and that no matter what his name meant to other people, he would still be the most important person to the world to him. He only knows this because of the mistakes of his father.


	11. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Hiroshi slowly opened his eyes as sunlight leaked in through the dusty window. It took him a second to remember where he was, but once he figured it out, his brain started moving. Why did they have a house and not live in it?

He looked around the room he slept in. It seemed like a normal bedroom, nothing really characterizing about it, except for the smell of the comforter. His nose was sensitive enough to know that this had to have been his dad's room when he was growing up. He got up and walked over to the window, looking out into a yard that, growing up, his dad probably practiced in with his father, maybe even his grandfather practiced with his father.

It didn't sound like his dad was awake yet, so Hiroshi decided to look around. He walked with as quiet of footsteps as he could out of the bedroom and into the hall. To his right there were three other doors, probably other bedrooms, and to the left was the living room and kitchen. The house was pretty big, so much bigger than their apartment that's for sure.

He treaded carefully into the living room, afraid the floor may squeak. As he walked, he looked at some of the pictures that were on tables or hanging on the walls. He gasped as he saw the man from his dream. He was wearing more traditional style clothing and standing next to a woman with light brown hair and familiar eyes… Instantly it clicked.

Sakumo was his grandfather. It made sense, all of the things he'd been saying to the sky. He must've been talking to his father. Hiroshi shook off the chill he felt in his spine and walked out the back door, to see the yard. In a certain spot, a huge pile of dirt sat where a deep hole had been dug. Now why would that be there?

Hiroshi hopped over to the hole to get a better look inside. It was pretty deep, but the sun made it easy to see what was in it. Remains… Human remains.

"DAD!"

"It will take a week for the ritual to be complete. Are you sure these are the DNA samples you would like?" Yuichi asked as he took two bags from Sasuke and Orochimaru.

"Positive. We made sure they had no connection with each other," Sasuke said. "You said something before about another person who could be of use to us?"

"Yes, I am bringing back one of the Sand Village's most excellent shinobi, cut down too early in her prime. I could come with you to whatever you plan on doing with these puppets and aid you," he said with a strange lust in his voice. "I could be useful."

In Yuichi's mind, he could picture the ultimate revenge, striking down that lazy copy cat of a shinobi with a person he wouldn't want to fight against, a person that he stole from him. Yes, this would be perfect.

Kakashi and Hiroshi finished shoveling the dirt back onto Sakumo's hand dug grave, disgusted by the thought of an animal of some sorts digging up this relative and eating him. They tried not to think about it though.

"So Sakumo was your dad?" Hiroshi asked, staring at the now fresh plot. "And you buried him here… because the cemetery wouldn't take him."

"Yes and yes," Kakashi said. "Which is one of the many reasons why we don't live here."

"There are more reasons?" Hiroshi asked, shivering a bit.

"Well, yeah, some of them being that the house is old and in need of a severe update. Others being more personal matters… We should be heading back," Kakashi changed the subject quickly. "I'm supposed to go work on that mission again today."

"Can I tag along?" Hiroshi asked as they started walking home, neither wanting to waste chakra.

"I don't think so," Kakashi said sternly, resulting in a sigh from Hiroshi. He was starting to get restless with no missions and only training to do. "I'll keep you posted."

Once they reached the training grounds, the pair parted ways. Hiroshi decided to hang back and practice the lightning blade some more, hoping that it would finally work this time. Of course, it wouldn't.

Kakashi, on the other hand, had to go to Lady Tsunade's office and pour over the research they found about who could be working with Orochimaru, what kind of involvement they had with the Akutski, and what kind of reanimation jutsu were out there. Even though they'd been searching for weeks, the amount of information they had was sadly lacking.

"They could just want to be joining the Akutski," Kakashi said simply as he paced her office.

"But wouldn't he have just said that then?" Tsunade questioned, staring at the information. "It seems most of the shinobi known for reanimation jutsu were medical nin at one point. And, Hiroshi did say that they had come from the direction he came from, meaning they could be using the Akutski as influences on someone from here."

"We could research any rogue medical nin," Kakashi thought out loud. "but, just because they were meeting here, if they were, doesn't mean that whoever they're trying to influence is from the village. They could've done this to throw us off."

"It seems as though they didn't know Hiroshi was there until a certain point," Tsunade pointed out. "Why would they say something to purposely throw us off if they didn't know we were listening?"

"They were near Konoha. They may have assumed someone was listening," Kakashi stated. Tsunade clicked her pen against the desk and rubbed her head with her other hand. "We should probably check the area again; see if there is any evidence."

"We've already checked several times. They didn't leave a trace of anything," Tsunade sighed, dropping her pen on her desk and rubbing her temples. Kakashi went back to pacing steadily, hoping that some sort of clue would click in his head.

Meanwhile, Hiroshi was working on getting back into his rigorous training schedule, doing anything to keep his body moving. He didn't like how his body didn't feel the same after what happened at the river. Every so often, it would act differently than it use to, or freeze up, but Tsunade said that was probably only temporary.

He also didn't like his father working on this case. True, he was Sasuke's teacher, so he probably knows his weaknesses better than anyone, but whether he wanted to admit it or not, he was emotionally involved. He treated Sasuke like a son somewhat, so for him to be working to hunt him down would be like him working to hunt Hiroshi down.

On the other hand, he did try to kill Hiroshi, so maybe that's making it easier. He knows that Guy is ready to run into battle with him, guns a blazing, all because of what happened. Even with this fact, Hiroshi couldn't imagine his dad wanting to kill Sasuke. Maybe it was the shinobi mode where he was focusing on getting his mission complete. Whatever it was, he had a strong feeling that his father wouldn't be able to kill anyone who had been his comrade, no matter how bad they were now.


	12. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Thank you guys for the reviews, the favorites and for the patience (and for not smiting me!). Here's the next chapter and I guestimate the one after this will be posted Thursdayish… We shall see :) Enjoy!**

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Chapter 8

The days following Kakashi's father being dug up were abnormally quiet, in a way that made Kakashi's stomach twist in knots. Any time he didn't spend with Lady Tsunade or working on that mission, he spent training or at the memorial stone. He and Hiroshi barely crossed paths, both working on their separate projects. Today was no different as Kakashi stood at the memorial site, reflecting on his life.

_If we knew how loosely we were bound to each other, would we have tried harder to stay together?_

"Kakashi!" a voice called, dragging him out of his own world and back into reality. Did he just really hear that voice? Sometimes voices from the past would come back and play themselves, but that sounded real. "Kakashi!"

He heard it again, now certain that not only was it real, but it was coming from behind the memorial stone. Cautiously, Kakashi walked over to the other side of the stone, finding Obito, not a day older than the last time he had seen him.

"O-Obito?" Kakashi asked as he knelt near the goggle bearing boy to get a better look at him. It instantly clicked and he backed away. "Reanimation jutsu. Sasuke, Orochimaru, show yourselves!"

The boy tilted his head at Kakashi and stood up, adjusting his goggles. Even though Kakashi was certain that this had to be a reanimation jutsu, Obito didn't seem like a threat. He just stood there and stared at him.

"You always were kinda smart," Obito said. "But, I escaped. I'm not being controlled."

"Why should I believe that?" Kakashi asked as he walked closer to Obito.

"Well, I guess there isn't any reason, but trust me on this," Obito said somewhat gravely. "I came to warn you. These people who brought me back, they're out to get you."

"Out to get me? But aren't they after Naruto?" He asked.

"I don't know who that is," Obito confessed. "Name sounds familiar… Oh! Sensei's son? Yeah, they're after him, but that's not important right now. The important thing is, you need to be on your guard."

"Who did they bring back?" Kakashi asked. Obito looked at his feet, blushing a little.

"We can see a lot from up there," Obito started as he pointed a thumb up to the sky. "And, I usually don't use that ability much, since Rin died anyways…. But we usually check up on you when you're here… And, there was this one time, I don't know how long it was, that you brought a girl here."

"Akahana?" Kakashi asked.

"Sounds familiar…. Is she blonde?" Obito asked. Kakashi nodded, his heart pounding in his chest. "Yeah, that's her…. Just… be careful."

Obito sat back down against his will, his eyes sinking. He knew he didn't have much time when he got here, since he'd pulled away from his master, Sasuke Uchiha. Without them, their bodies don't last very long, and getting lost trying to find Kakashi didn't help much.

"I have to go back," Obito said weakly. "But, you know, you turned out alright."

Before Kakashi could say any of the things he had wanted to tell Obito for years, the boy closed his eyes and burst into specks of dust before his eyes. His eyes watered from the dust, but that only reminded him of what Obito use to say about having dust in his eyes, even though he wore goggles…

* * *

"So Obito told you all of this?" Tsunade asked skeptically. Kakashi knew convincing her to believe him would be the hardest part.

"Yeah, he said that they're after me for whatever reason," Kakashi said, leaving out the tiny detail of Akahana being mentioned.

"Mmm, well, I can't say that this information is reliable because they could be trying to distract us from protecting Naruto, so here's what we're going to do," Tsunade said as she pulled out a scroll and got ready to fill out assignments. "We now know that they have created these reanimations, but we aren't sure how. I'm sending for the head of the medical corps in the Suna to come and help out with picking apart this reanimation jutsu technique. I'm going to send a few ANBU to Naruto's house and have them guard him until this threat is terminated as well. I want you to go back to wherever you found Obito and get his remains. Bring them back here, so I can analyze them."

"Okay," Kakashi said as he walked out to go back to the memorial site, shutting the emotions off in his head and tapping into shinobi mode. Without thinking, Kakashi swept Obito's dusty remains into his hand and then into his pouch, figuring that he can just dump out the dust when he gives it back to Tsunade. All he had to do was pretend he wasn't sweeping up the remains of one of his closest friends, which wasn't too hard... While he did so, he heard voices.

"I'll learn to control her Lord Orochimaru. I apologize," Yuichi said with his hand over Akahana's mouth. He had succeeded in his experiment of making a sturdier, longer lasting reanimation, but he drifted in and out of control with her. Right now, she was in control.

"You'd better," he hissed as he grabbed her legs that she was kicking forcefully. "If you hadn't lost control, we would've been able to take Hatake down while he was distracted with Obito. Maybe then that disgrace of an Uchiha would've been worth something."

"I know. I am sorry," Yuichi mumbled. Kakashi inched over, concealing his chakra. At first, he thought this meant that Obito had to have been lying, but then he realized Sasuke wasn't there, so he couldn't have been controlled. Silently, he continued listening. Akahana was trying pretty hard to get away, squirming and struggling, but even Kakashi could tell that she didn't have full control of her body.

"If you keep fighting me, you'll be the sorest piece of ass in the fire country," Yuichi whispered into a struggling Akahana's ear. She glared at him as she tried to bite his hand, but he moved his hand before she could and slapped her.

"Go to hell!" She screamed at him as she kicked again, trying to tear free. "You're a fucking psychopathic sicko!"

"That's not nice My Love," he said tenderly as he grabbed her by her arms and they started carrying her away. She spat at him.

"Go fuck yourself," she said viciously as she continued to struggle with the two of them. Under normal circumstances, she could've escaped, but since Yuichi was holding onto her, he had enough control over her that she could only use less than half of her power.

"No, I think that's your job," he said with a laugh, not fazing her. The anger Kakashi felt was indescribable. The only feeling he could remember that was similar was when his son had almost been killed by that thief all of those years ago and how he'd felt about Sasuke after discovering he tried to kill his son. It was the kind that blinds one's sight and leaves you thinking absolutely irrationally. Even though he wanted to go over and rip both of them to shreds, he knew he couldn't. Orochimaru was much stronger than him, not to mention that other guy. Instead, he followed them to their hideout.

"The others should be ready soon," Yuichi promised as they walked into the hideout. "Just as you asked: Sakumo Hatake and I'll be working on a new Obito Uchiha."

"Good work Yuichi," Orochimaru said as he swiftly pressed Akahana's pressure points and knocked her out. "The time to strike is steadily approaching."

"Hiroshi?" Sakura called to the practice field. "Are you out here?"

"Over here," he called as he dusted himself off after falling flat on his face from another failed lightning blade. "What's up?"

"Your dad has a mission tonight. He told me to tell you to stay with Naruto for the night," Sakura said in her friendly tone. Hiroshi blushed with embarrassment and anger. Didn't he and his dad just have a conversation about trust?

"Thanks," he grumbled as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Sakura smiled.

"No problem, but I have to go now. The head medical nin from the Hidden Sand Village is coming to visit us and Lady Tsunade wants me to meet her," Sakura said excitedly.

"Oh, have fun," Hiroshi said in the friendliest voice he could muster. She nodded and disappeared, too anxious and excited to just walk there. Hiroshi sulked all the way to Naruto's house with a chip on his shoulder, knowing that he was going to bitch out his dad about this as soon as he got home.

"It's up here?" Guy asked as he and Kakashi ran back to Orochimaru's lair.

"Yeah, just a little further," Kakashi insisted. When he had told the Hokage that he wanted to go that night, just to get Akahana, she was annoyed beyond belief. It took him explaining that she could give them information for her to finally consent to the rescue mission. "Stop, it's right here."

The shinobi stopped in front of a dark cave against a mountainside. Never in Kakashi's entire life had he been as nervous about a mission as he was with this one. His heart felt as though it would pound out of his chest. Guy put a comforting hand on his shoulder and grinned.

"Let's go get her," he said with a thumbs up. Kakashi nodded, taking a deep breath, and following his best friend into the cave.


	13. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: I AM NOT DEAD I SWEAR! Seriously though, what happened was that I was struck with an original idea and wrote a 62,000 page novel in the time I was gone (not kidding), so I didn't even look at this or edit it or anything to prevent losing the story I was writing. : ) So sorry. Here's the next chapter, enjoy I don't know when the next one will be up because I have a few other stories floating around in my brain, but this one is on the top priority to finish. Enjoy and sorry for the wait.**

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Chapter 9

"Stay close," Kakashi said as the light slowly started disappearing as they moved deeper into the musty cave. He could see because of his sharingan, but for anyone else, it would be impossible. "Here." Kakashi grabbed Guy's shoulder and led him through the winding cave, following the chakra he could sense within.

"We're like knights in armor," Guy whispered excitedly. "All we need is a steed."

"Shh," Kakashi hushed as he listened to see if anyone was awake. They were getting really close. "We're getting close."

Kakashi led the two down another hall, towards a green glowing light, until they were inside a room that looked like it had come out of a Science Fiction movie. There was medical and science equipment everywhere, along with ominous glowing tubes, which were causing the green glow. Kakashi closed his eyes and just listened, trying to see if he could hear or sense Akahana.

"Kakashi, I think there are people in these things," Guy said nervously as he poked the green tubes.

"Guy, don't touch those," Kakashi warned warily as he followed his senses. "I think she's this way."

Guy left the ominous tubes and went back to Kakashi's side, following him down another tunnel that enveloped them in darkness, but he had been right. They could hear people breathing.

"You know the bad guys always lose right?" Akahana said breathlessly from the end of the tunnel. "If I had all of my strength-"

"You'd kick my ass? The one who created you? Who brought life back into you?" the man whispered viciously.

"I'd rather be dead," she said with finality. "At least I had some peace."

"Ha, you peaceful? That's like saying a hurricane is calm," Yuichi said back. "I have to go check on the new bodies and get that tube from Orochimaru's room… Just think, in a few days… heh, I will finally have revenge."

"Revenge for what you psychotic bastard?!" Akahana yelled, the sound echoing down the room. Both Guy and Kakashi flinched from the volume of the noise.

"He's coming," Kakashi whispered as he pushed Guy up against the wall and held his breath. Luckily for them, Yuichi was half conscious and not too observant in the first place, so he didn't even notice them. As soon as he walked past them, the two hurried to the end of the hall. "Akahana?"

Akahana was lying in a bed, her eyes closed. She figured the voice was just the one that always haunted her, reminding her of the person she wished she was lying next to, so she ignored it.

"Commander?" he whispered again, making her blink and look around. Then she realized she couldn't see.

"Kakashi?" she whispered back, reaching around blindly. Kakashi grabbed her, instantly surprised by her lack of clothes. "Sorry."

"No, it's okay. We're getting you out of here," he said as he took off his vest and gave it to her so she was at least wearing something. "Now let's go before he gets back."

"Okay," she said, still shell shocked that he was actually here. Kakashi grabbed her hand and held Guy's shoulder he led them out of the dark hallway and back into the glowing room.

"Hello Akaaaaaaaa…" Guy started his happy introduction until he realized this very attractive woman was not wearing anything. "Uhhhhh, you're naked."

"Yeah, sorry," she said without any embarrassment. Kakashi slapped Guy across the back of the head for staring too long. "We'd better go now. He'll be back soon."

Without any questions, even though they were full of them, the group hurried out of the cave. About halfway through the dark tunnels, they heard a scream of rage radiate from the belly of the cave, sending a shutter through Akahana and making Kakashi move all of them even faster. Suddenly, the floor began moving as snakes emerged from the soil and began hissing at them. Barefooted Akahana was not having it.

"Oh hell no," she said as she fearlessly stepped on snake heads. "Release!"

The snakes disappeared, the last ditch effort at stopping them failing as it only led to them running, no longer worrying about stealth because it was obvious that they'd been found out. The trio sped out of the cave and didn't stop running until they reached the training fields.

"I feel like I shouldn't go meeting the Hokage like this," Akahana joked. "Or even walk through the village for that matter."

"I have the perfect thing!" Guy said, running off and leaving the two. Kakashi looked at her with a sheepish smile, not sure what to say exactly. Akahana turned from him, not wanting to talk about or think about anything from her past. She just wanted to get over it.

"I'm back!" Guy yelled, destroying the awkward silence as he held up a green jumpsuit.

"It's better than being naked," she grumbled as she took it from him and threw it on. Kakashi grabbed Guy by the back of the neck and made him look at the grass in an attempt to give Akahana a tiny bit of privacy. "I feel like a dork."

"Are you kidding? You look fantastic!" Guy said enthusiastically as he looked at Akahana, now wearing his too big, spandex suit. She just shrugged, reminding herself once again that it was better than being naked. "Now, my lovely little lotus, we must take you to Lady Tsunade."

"Okay," she said, trying to get use to how Guy talks again. She'd only met him once and that was over 11 years ago, so she had to readjust. To save her some embarrassment, the two shinobi used a transportation jutsu to bring themselves and Akahana into the Hokage's office.

"Um… okay," she said as she stared at Akahana's jumpsuit. "Hello."

"Hi," she said, her strong voice coming back. "I'm Akahana Hayashi of the Sand Village, well sort of at least… I was until I died."

"Sit," she offered one of the chairs in the outskirts of her office. Akahana grabbed one and sat down while Kakashi and Guy stood nearby. "You two are dismissed."

"Um..." Kakashi started, afraid that if he left, Akahana would be gone.

"I think I wasn't clear," Tsunade bit. "Go, now." Guy grabbed Kakashi's shoulder and pulled him with him out of the room.

"You'll get to see her more when Lady Tsunade is done," Guy said happily. "Ah the springtime blossoms of love have been restored!"

"Holy shit it's Kakashi fucking Hatake!" another voice from the past yelled as Kakashi was thrown into a spine breaking hug. Delivering the hug was the giant red-headed Kazue, one of the members of the team he was on with Akahana. "You grew up! Woww…."

"What are you doing here?" He asked, pleasantly surprised to see her. Her bright red hair that she use to wear down was now pulled up in a pony tail, but other than that, she looked exactly the same, still towering over everyone.

"Miyuki was called here by the Hokage to study some reanimation jutsu thing or something, so I tagged along. Had nothing better to do," she said with a grin. "Jeez, it's like the whole team's together again. We just need Commander…"

"Well, actually," Kakashi said as he looked back at the Hokage's office. "She's a victim of this reanimation jutsu."

It took Kazue a second to piece that together because of the word victim. Automatically, she assumed that meant that Akahana was hurt by it, but she was dead so…

"She's back…?" She asked, dumbstruck. Kakashi nodded. "Oh my… I can't believe it…."

"Neither can I," Kakashi admitted, wishing that she was out there with them, even if she was wearing a hideous green jumpsuit.

"Kakashi?" Miyuki squeaked excitedly as she ran over and gave him a gentle hug. He considered himself privileged to be one of the only men Miyuki was comfortable around, so he accepted and returned it. "Wow, you don't look much different… Just older."

Miyuki was the one who looked the most different out of all of them. Her black hair that use to be short and jagged was now probably shoulder length, but was always pulled up in a bun. Her big round glasses were still there, but her face had grown and she just looked older, not like an old lady but like an adult. She turned from Kakashi and smiled shyly at Guy.

"The lovely Miyuki has returned to Konoha!? I haven't seen you in years, but you look just as lovely as I remember," he said overdramatically, practically swooning over this girl. "How about I take you out for dinner?"

"Oh… can I raincheck? I have a lot of work to do for Lady Tsunade," she said, disappointed that she couldn't go out with Guy.

"That's right. You're the head of the medical ninja corps in the Suna now. Congratulations," Kakashi said kindly.

"Thanks," she squeaked. "I was examining that dust that you brought back from the reanimated person, and it's very interesting. The cells that I was able to salvage from it were almost like watered down human cells. They acted in the same way, but were missing pieces that are vital to cells longevity and reproduction. That would explain that they have very short lifespan."

"You were able to figure that all out from dust?" Kazue said in disbelief. Miyuki just smiled and nodded.

"Now if I could get an alive one…"

"Here you go," Lady Tsunade cut in, Akahana standing next to her.

"COMMANDER!" Kazue yelled, grabbing Akahana and squeezing the life out of her.

"I… can't…. breathe…" she gasped as she tried to escape the death hug. Kazue let her go, still grinning.

"I can't believe this…." Miyuki said, her eyes watering a little. "Akahana…. You're back…"

"Yeah, and I'm stuck here for the night, so let's start these tests," she said as she rubbed her eyes. "I don't know how long I'll be here…"

"R-right. Come with me," Miyuki said, still a little stunned as Akahana linked pinkies with her and smiled. She looked over her shoulder and gave a reassuring smile to her friends.

"I'm in good hands. I'll make sure to see you all tomorrow," she called back as she followed Miyuki to the hospital. Kazue turned back to Kakashi, a smile coming onto her face.

"There is someone else I want to see, since I'm here," she said gently. "Where's your son?"


	14. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: As always, thanks for any reviews, favorites, alerts, and any sort of support. I appreciate it :) Enjoy.**

Chapter 10

"Freedom!" Hiroshi yelled as he escaped Naruto's house in the morning and ran back into the streets of Konoha. Naruto had already left to go train and Hiroshi was planning on being close behind him, but first he had to run home and have a little time to prepare for the day. Just like his father, Hiroshi fumbled with his keys at the door to their apartment until he finally opened it. Inside was not only his sleeping father but also a large redheaded woman passed out on the floor and reeking of liquor. Her snoring was practically shaking the walls.

"Urm… okay," Hiroshi just accepted it, hoping that this wasn't some woman that his dad hooked up with. While Kakashi hasn't dated at all as long as Hiroshi has known him, he had always figured it would happen eventually. Even so, he wasn't comfortable with his dad being with anyone other than his mom.

Kakashi sat up in his bed quickly, finally noticing that someone else was in the house. He rubbed his eyes for a few seconds before he stared at Hiroshi, trying to wake up.

"Good morning," he said tiredly as he pulled himself out of bed. "Did you have a good night at Naruto's?"

"Yeah, but what the hell?" Hiroshi said angrily.

"Watch the language," Kakashi warned half heartedly. He really cared less if Hiroshi swore, but as his father he felt like he should probably tell him not to.

"Sorry. What the heck? I'm capable of staying home alone," Hiroshi answered with annoyance. "And who is this lady?"

Kakashi saw it in Hiroshi's eyes when he asked about Kazue, that flash of worry. He thought that this woman was a potential step-mother.

"There were some pretty dangerous people near Konoha, and I wanted to make sure you were alright, and she's an old teammate, a friend of mine," Kakashi answered, emphasizing the word friend. He stood up and lightly kicked Kazue, making her snoring stop. "Hey, wake up. Time to seize the day."

"I'll seize the day whenever the hell I want to," she grumbled, rolling onto her stomach and burying her face into the blanket she'd been lying on.

"Suit it yourself, but I'm going to go visit… our guest in a few minutes, so if you want to come…" Kakashi's voice trailed off. Hiroshi stared at him with confusion. "Last night was a rescue mission."

"Oh," Hiroshi understood. It must've been a comrade if his dad was going to visit this person.

"You can come if you want, and trust me, you want to," Kakashi said, trying to give away as little as possible. Hiroshi's interest was peaked, to say the least.

"Okay," he said hesitantly as the red headed woman dragged herself off the floor.

"Let's hit it Hatake," she slurred as she steadied herself. "I'm hung-over and can barely stand up."

"She's probably expecting that," Kakashi jabbed as he grabbed her arm to steady her. "Hiroshi, this is Kazue."

"Hiroshi….Oh my…." She stared at Hiroshi with shock. "Damn… you grew up…. You're going to be a lady killer in a few years."

"Uh…. Thanks?" Hiroshi said, not sure what to think of this lady.

"You probably don't remember me, since the last time I saw you, you were tiny, but I'm a good friend of your mom. I actually named you," she said with a satisfied smile.

"Wait… you're THAT Kazue?" Hiroshi said with disbelief. "My mom told me about her teammate Kazue, but she always described you as noble and strong…. Not drunk…"

"Details details," she waved. "Let's get going!"

* * *

"I like you Kid," Tsunade said as she shared a bottle of sake with Akahana. "You're a little spitfire."

"It's part of the job description," Akahana replied as she took a sip of sake from her little cup. "Thank you very much for your hospitality, and the new clothes…. If I had to wear that green jumpsuit any longer, I was going to snap."

Akahana was now wearing an extra jonin uniform, minus the vest and sandals. She leaned back in her chair in the Hokage's office and closed her eyes, thinking of how to word things.

"There's a lot of useful information I know," she said finally, opening her blues eyes. "But the problem is that the person who brought me back, in a way, shares a mind with me when he takes over my body, which means that anything that happens to me while I'm not being controlled, he can still see later."

"So you're worried that he'll know how much we know?" Tsunade asked, to which Akahana nodded. "While that is a concern, I think that any information you have will be more useful to us than the element of surprise. We don't even know who is all involved in this."

"Okay," Akahana said as she poured herself some more sake. "The three people are Sasuke, Orochimaru and Yuichi… I don't know last names, I'm sorry. Sasuke brought back Obito and Orochimaru brought back Sakumo while Yuichi brought me back… I went to school with Yuichi, back in the Land of Tea a really long time ago…. I always knew he had a crush on me, but, and I hate to say this, but it's turned into a sick obsession. He brought me back to…. Well, I'm sure you can assume what for since I wasn't wearing anything."

"So this Yuichi person, do you think he's a threat?" Tsunade asked. Akahana pondered this for a moment, taking a few sips of sake before finally answering.

"I think that he could be, but he isn't very bright. When Kakashi and Guy came for me, he didn't even notice until we were almost gone. If Sasuke and Orochimaru would have been there, there's no way we would've escaped," Akahana confessed, examining her hands to avoid looking Lady Tsunade in the eyes.

"This reanimation jutsu they've been using, is there any way you can explain it?" Tsunade asked, trying to move away from things that made Akahana uncomfortable.

"I'm not very good at understanding things like this, but from what I understand, they recreate our bodies with samples of our DNA, and must use some sort of jutsu to bring back our learned jutsus and make us older than babies… The problem with that is that our bodies in life are simply vessels to contain our souls, and our souls are held into place by this vessel, almost like a gravitational pull. So, when they create these bodies, our souls are almost forced into them by the inescapable pull. Sure, they can overcome that by suppressing our souls, but I think that it may lead to more problems than that," Akahana looked up at Tsunade, giving her a sympathetic smile. "There are a lot of people up there who really want to see people down here, just for a visit, to tell them everything is alright. So when they notice that people are leaving, they search for those means to escape…" Akahana thought about Tsunade's little brother and her boyfriend, who were both people she'd only seen in passing when she would come and check on Kakashi and Hiroshi at the viewing station. They were always in the same area, watching over her. "With them plucking spirits from the afterlife, even if it is only three of us, they're wearing down the fabric that contains us."

"Are you implying that more spirits may come?" Tsunade asked with more force than she'd meant.

"It's very possible," Akahana answered. "If anything, it's beyond likely. Once a hole is ripped in the fabric that separates us, I wonder if it will ever be able to be repaired…"

Before they could even ponder that thought, the gentle tap of Miyuki's fist rapped on Tsunade's door.

"Enter," Tsunade said with frustration, hating being interrupted. Miyuki came in timidly, intimidated by Tsunade.

"I have some very strange information Lady Tsunade," Miyuki said as she gestured to her clipboard and the stack of papers on top of it. She gently closed the door behind her and took the silence as permission to speak. "After doing some very careful examinations and comparisons of the cells we retrieved from Akahana and the cells found in the dust, I found that not only are there different pieces of DNA contained in them, but that they are constructed entirely different."

"What do you mean?" Akahana asked, looking over to her friend with tired eyes.

"The cells found in the remains of Obito were missing very key factors to vitality and longevity, while your cells have these things. If anything, your cells are very close replicas to real human cells," Miyuki said as she stared at her information rather than her commander. "This means, whoever created you wanted you around for a long time."

"Where would you like to proceed from here Miyuki?" Tsunade asked, a strange ominous feeling coming over her.

"I'd like to give Akahana a physical and compare the results to the physical results from her most recent one before her death. There is no way this person was able to completely replicate actual life, so we just need to find where the clones shortcomings lie, and then we can know how to attack," Miyuki said firmly. "We already know that he was able to change physical attributes on a whim, like Akahana's scar on her cheek not being there. Another test I'd like to do is of Akahana's brainwaves, in order to find the kind of connection and control this person has over her mind along with her nervous system."

"You have my permission to do whatever tests you deem necessary," Lady Tsunade said as she filled out the proper paperwork and handed it to Miyuki. "Akahana, we will talk more after you're done with your tests."

"Yes Milady," she said as she stood from her chair and followed Miyuki. "We're going to figure this out Miyuki," Akahana promised as she linked pinkies with her friend.

"Definitely Commander," she said as she looked up from her paperwork and eyes caught sight of bright red. "Kazue? Is that you?"

"Man, my espionage skills have always sucked," Kazue sighed as she came back from around the corner.

"It doesn't help that you're a giant," Akahana said with a smile. "And you reek of booze."

"I got drunk with Kakashi last night," she said with a grin. "Then we proceeded to have hot kinky sex all over his apartment. You're jealous, I know."

"Right," Akahana rolled her eyes as Kakashi appeared from around the corner. Contrary to original reaction of being cold to Kakashi, she smiled at him tiredly. "So you and Kazue had crazy kinky sex?"

"That's news to me," Kakashi assured as he looked at his exteammate. "She got so sloshed last night though, that I wouldn't be surprised if she thought that."

"Whatever, that isn't important!" Kazue yelled, karate chopping the air to end the conversation. "Akahannnaaaa, we brought you a present."

"A present?" Akahana asked carefully.

"Uh huh, well, it's more of a regift," Kazue said. "Here, I'll give you some hints. In both situations, it was a pleasant surprise, Kakashi has given it to you, and it's been absolutely adorable, even though it's a hell of a lot taller now."

"….," Akahana had absolutely no clue until her son came out from the other side of the wall, a reluctant smile on his face. She stared at him, not sure what to say at first. "You…. Got really tall."

"Yeah," Hiroshi said as he walked over to his mom and stared at her. "You look different."

"My scar is gone," she said as she pointed to her cheek. As soon as she said that, it clicked that there had been one in the first place. "Wow you look like your dad…."

"Yet he has your temper and your mouth," Kakashi tossed out, making Akahana smile.

"So I've seen," she said as she just looked at her son with amazement. Carefully, she rested her hands on his shoulders and bent over slightly to get a better look at him. She didn't think she'd get to see him again for a really long time. "I saw you beat the shit out of that kid. Good job."

Hiroshi chuckled as his mom pulled him into one of her tight hugs. It wasn't spine breaking like Kazue's, but gentle and firm. Memories of rainy days coloring, riding on his mother's shoulder's through the streets of the Suna, and his very first shinobi lessons all washed into Hiroshi's brain like floodgates being opened.

"Did that lady really name me?" Hiroshi asked once they let go. Akahana let out a chuckle as she looked over at Kazue.

"Well, yes. I'm stubborn and I was convinced that you were going to be a girl, so I didn't even consider boy names. When you were born, Kazue looked at you and said you looked like a Hiroshi, and well, that was good enough for me," Akahana said, grinning at the memory.

"I'm glad so much thought was put into my name…." Hiroshi mumbled, only receiving a ruffling of his hair from his mom. Miyuki rocked on her heels patiently, staring down at her clipboard every three minutes.

"Right, I will see you all later, but I have to go do even more tests," she said as she rolled her eyes dramatically. "I'll meet you all tonight, Ramen bar?"

"Sounds good Commander!" Kazue said enthusiastically as Akahana followed Miyuki. "Oh! And you owe me 20,000 Ryo!"

"Why?" Akahana called, stopping Miyuki before they walked out the door.

"Remember how I bet you that your son would be at least as hot as Kakashi?" Kazue asked with a grin, making both Hiroshi and Kakashi blush. "I won, so fork it over!"

"I don't have money! I didn't even have clothes!" Akahana yelled as she ran out of the door, leaving a frustrated Kazue and two dumb-founded Hatakes.


	15. Chapter 10B

**Author's Note: Thanks for all of the support through reviews, favorites, alerts, or just reading ^_^ and thank you for the patience! This story gives me so much trouble. Enjoy.**

Chapter 10.B

Akahana froze in front of the door to Kakashi's apartment, unsure if she should knock or just break in. She'd spent all day with Miyuki, being tested over and over to find anything that she could about this reanimation jutsu, but it all came to one conclusion: this was the closest anyone had come to replicating actual life. She didn't want to think about that though, or the feeling of impending doom that had found a home in her gut. All she wanted to do was see her son for the time she had, and maybe spend a little time with her friends. If she got to do that, she'd be satisfied.

"Hey," Kakashi said as he opened the door, startling Akahana. She stared at him, trying to find exactly what she wanted to say to him, but then gave up and looked around him, into the apartment. From where she stood, she could see a passed out Hiroshi in a small bed. "He's sleeping."

"Mmm," she hummed to herself, rocking back on her heels. There was a lot left unsaid between the two shinobi, so much so that neither of them knew exactly where to start. "Want to go for a walk?"

Kakashi looked back at Hiroshi and Kazue, fast asleep in the apartment, and nodded, locking the door and putting a protective seal on the door before they left. _You always were paranoid about that stuff_ she thought as the two walked away from the academy apartments and towards the training grounds.

The normally alive streets of Konoha were pin drop silent with it being close to one in the morning. Kakashi and Akahana were the only two people out walking, even though there were some citizens on their apartment decks, having a smoke or reading a book by candle light. The fall wind danced in the night air, keeping both shinobi cool as they walked next to each other with a familiar comfort.

"Where to start?" Akahana asked with a smile, trying to kill some of the tension. Kakashi looked at her with a smile as well.

"The beginning usually is a good place," he said as she leaned back.

"Yeah, but the beginning of where?" she asked as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Hmm, oh, I know where to start." She smacked the back of Kakashi's head, not with very much force. "That's for letting our son read Itcha Itcha when he was… what? Six? Seven?"

"He was almost seven, and I didn't let him. It was an accident," Kakashi pointed out as he rubbed the back of his head. Akahana sighed, knowing the argument wasn't very important and that bringing up something small like that was just the right thing to break the floodgate.

"We were so dumb," she said, almost laughing.

"Yeah, we were," he agreed as they walked into the training grounds.

"I should've told you about Hiroshi," she confessed.

"I understand your reasons," he said back. She smiled as she leaned her head back to look at the sky. "Even if you had told me, I'm not quite sure what I would've done about it."

"I would've come to Konoha," Akahana said simply. "I considered it on several occasions."

"I know. I got your note," Kakashi said, remembering the note that was found in her shinobi uniform, which he's read enough times that the paper is worn in its creases.

"Right," she said as they both naturally walked to the memorial stone. She stared at it, trying to read the names in the pitch black even though she knew it was impossible.

_If we knew how loosely we were bound together, would we have tried harder to stay together?_

"Did you say something?" Akahana asked, as she could've sworn Kakashi had said something. He pulled himself from his thoughts.

"No, I didn't," Kakashi answered. Akahana just stared at her pinky, thinking about the red string of fate theory before staring back up at Kakashi.

"You know what I find funny?" she said after a few minutes of silence, her hands instinctively going to her neck to play with her necklace before realizing it wasn't there. "We spent so much of our time together trying to convince ourselves that we were only friends, only having a good time, and not slowly falling in love with each other, that we didn't even notice what had happened until you left."

"Yeah," Kakashi agreed as he looked back up at the sky. "Even then, I was still trying to convince myself. It didn't really kick in for me until they officially pronounced you dead."

"You always want what you can't have," Akahana sighed as she lay down in the grass next to the memorial stone, in the exact same place she had laid over ten years ago. "If only we could go back in time, huh?"

"There are a lot of things I'd change if we could go back in time," Kakashi confessed as he lay down next to her, staring at the sky. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," she whispered as she closed her eyes, absorbing the moment.

"Can the dead really watch us in the afterlife?" he asked as he stared at the sky, trying to feel that presence of Obito, but not sensing it.

"Yes," she answered quietly. "And we do, often. Sometimes, we can even sway events on Earth… It's all complicated, so I won't explain it."

"Fair enough," he answered.

"Anything you say to me, know that Sasuke, Orochimaru and Yuichi may, can, and probably will hear it eventually," she said robotically, her eyes still closed. "Yuichi really likes hunting through the inner tunnels of my brain, when he has the chance."

"If I get the chance, he will be dead," Kakashi said with cool anger as he put his hands under his head.

"He feels the same about you," Akahana sighed. "He really is a psychopath… and a creep."

"Yeah, I was getting those vibes," Kakashi admitted. Akahana smiled as she looked over at Kakashi. The image was always how she imagined him: completely relaxed, almost like he was asleep. Carefully, Akahana got up on her hands and knees and crawled closer to him, leaning over him until they were face to face. His eyes were closed, so he didn't even notice until she kissed his forehead.

"I've been wanting to do that," she confessed, her face inches away from his. "But, I was afraid that if I got too close to you during my limited time here that it would hurt too much when I had to leave… Now, I think I'm realizing that it'll hurt a lot more if we just pretend that we're only friends."

"I couldn't agree more," Kakashi murmured, his heart racing because she was this close. He never thought that she would be this close for the rest of his life. Swiftly, she was back on her feet and offering him a hand.

"Do you know of any inns in Konoha?" she asked as she helped him up off the floor.

"No, but I know somewhere we could go," he answered as he brushed the dirt off himself and led Akahana to a different part of town. This time, when he walked into the Hatake House, he didn't feel emotionally overwhelmed by ghosts from the past, or even slightly disturbed by the room at the end of the hallway. To be honest, the two didn't even make it to one of the bedrooms. At least Kakashi had enough sense about him to lock the door.


End file.
